


Fanboy

by urbangurl123



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is the cheesiest writer ever omg, F/M, Fanfic writing Adrien, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Marichat, Marinette is best beta reader tbh, Master Fu is legit so done with their shit, Slow Burn, humor with some angst, just so much pining, some slight Djwifi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-15 19:12:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 67,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9251936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/urbangurl123/pseuds/urbangurl123
Summary: After discovering the wonders of Ladynoir fanfiction, Adrien sets out to start his own with his classmate Marinette helping him along the way. But what happens when fiction starts becoming reality?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I really hope you enjoy the story. On my tumblr (@fuckingchatnoir) you can find updates on when a chapter is going to be posted and even fanart when I decide to draw some for this story.  
> This story is also beta'd by the wonderful @serendipitousReckonings here on archive, @dickerdoodlez on tumblr.

Adrien was never the _writing_ type. He did write well-written papers and essays – at least according to his teachers – and was even occasionally asked by a few of his classmates for some writing tips. But, it was for educational purposes only. He‘d never had any sort of passion to write an actual story and he never thought of himself as the imaginative kind anyway. His mind was almost always focused on school, his responsibilities set by his father, and his masked identity. He never really had that luxury of being able to think about anything else. Well, except for his Lady, but that was something entirely different.

That was, until one morning when he arrived at school earlier than usual. It was stormy, the sky was four shades darker than normal, the atmosphere was chilly, and his father didn’t want to risk him catching a cold. So there Adrien was in his homeroom nice and early, but dreadfully exhausted. He was already planning to ask Ladybug later that day if they could shorten patrol since he knew he needed to recharge. The akuma from the night before had taken a lot out of him and his Lady. Dodging sharp shuriken made from CDs for a few hours wasn’t the easiest thing. And to top it all off, his biceps and thighs were feeling pretty sore as well. He knew he should’ve iced them.  

“Look who decided to show up early for once!”

Adrien looked over to see Nino enter the room. His friend immediately slid his headphones down from his ears to his shoulders as a bright smile grew on his face. Adrien tried to mirror his friend’s enthusiasm but yawned instead, rubbing his eyes soon after.

“Hey, Nino.”

“Bro, you look terrible.”

“Thanks man, you always know the right things to say.”

Nino placed his bag on the ground before he sat down next to the blond. The late bell then rang and a few students rushed into the classroom, a few breathless from running.

“You know what I mean. How much sleep did you get last night?”

Adrien shrugged. To be honest, he didn’t even remember what time he‘d gotten home. All he remembered was the sound of Ladybug’s voice when she said goodnight to him. Well, that _and_ waking up.

“Don’t remember.”

“Broooo. You gotta take better care of yourself. I’m telling you, it’s all those photoshoots you’re always doing. Your old man needs to chill with that.”

Adrien just yawned again and shrugged in response, not having the energy to make up some lie. He just wanted the day to end already so he could see Ladybug and go back to sleep. Maybe, if he was lucky, the storm would be so bad that his fencing practice would get canceled that afternoon. One could only hope.  

Nino and Adrien talked for a few minutes about this teen club that Nino wanted to perform in. The brunette told his friend how awesome the opportunity would be if they would give him a chance and Adrien genuinely agreed. Nino then, however, remembered that he needed to finish a worksheet and occupied himself with finishing that. Adrien decided to use the rest of the time to rest his eyes until homeroom was over. Plagg must’ve been pretty tired too since the blond hadn’t heard one whisper from him in a while. Adrien was trying to keep his eyes open, not wanting to drift off and miss the bell like last time. However, it was getting harder and harder for him as the minutes passed. So, he decided to listen in on a few conversations to keep his mind occupied.

Since there were so few students in his class, it wasn’t too hard to hear what they were saying. Kim and Max were talking about basketball – Max was trying to approximate the height Kim would have to be in order to make a perfect shot five - hundred feet from the net. Ivan and Alix were trying to convince Mylene to go along with them to some horror movie festival, Mylene making several nervous gasps at the descriptions of the monsters. Sabrina and Chloe were on their phones. Chloe was making a few complaints about some shoes online. He heard nothing from Nathanael as always – the boy was probably sleeping again. And then there were Rose, Juleka, and Alya who were speaking right behind him.

“Yeah, Marinette just texted me. She’s gonna come in late today. She overslept as usual.” Alya said.

“I hope she’s okay.” Rose responded.

“Don’t worry, girl. She’s fine. She just stays up to work on designs. No big deal.”

“Oh! Do you think she’s working on anything with that pink fabric she showed me last week? It was so pretty!”

“Or with that fabric that has those dark purple stripes. It was wicked.” Juleka joined in.

“I’m not sure. Why don’t you two ask her later today? I’m sure she’ll be excited to show us her designs.”

They agreed and Adrien wondered curiously what his missing classmate could be working on as well. Whenever Alya would show him her designs, he was always so impressed with her work. Even though he was a model, he didn’t really know much about fashion. However, he still found Marinette’s work as good as the clothes he had to wear during those professional photoshoots.   

“By the way, did you guys read the new update from last night? It was so cute!” Rose spoke, the subject changing abruptly.

Alya groaned.

“Sadly, I did.”

“ _Sadly_? What, you didn’t like it?”

“You seriously think Ladybug would let an akuma get away to make out with Chat Noir? She’s not selfish!”

Adrien’s head shot up so quickly that his mind went dizzy.

“Dude, you okay?” Nino questioned, glancing up from his work to look over at his friend who tried to conceal the sudden blush on his cheeks.

He‘d moved too fast.

He hoped the girls didn’t notice.

“Yeah. Yeah. Um, I just… I thought I… um… saw a spider.”

Nino stared at him a while longer before chuckling.

“This is what happens when you don’t sleep, man.”

Adrien nodded and smiled forcefully before his friend chuckled again and went back to the worksheet. Luckily, the girls didn’t notice and continued on with their conversation that confused Adrien in more ways than one.

“But it was sooooo romantic! Chat and Ladybug kissing for the first time under the moonlight like they were the only people in the world. I wish someone loved me that much!”

Adrien sunk more into his seat, his right hand running through his hair as he was trying to figure out what they were talking about. He‘d never kissed Ladybug, much less kiss her during an akuma attack. He agreed with Alya. That would be very careless.

Where were they getting this information? Did someone spot the two superheroes last night and think they saw them kissing? The more he thought about it, the more lost he felt. He didn’t think anyone could’ve gotten the wrong idea since he was too busy saving lives the previous night to focus on anything else. He and Ladybug didn’t even make any physical contact with one another until their routine fist bump, so he wasn’t really sure what to think. He was going to have to check the Ladyblog during lunch.

“I didn’t mind the kissing thing, but I wish the villain was scarier.”

Adrien almost looked back when he heard Juleka’s comment.

_Scarier?_

_She wished the villain was scarier?! How does she not find a person that could make shuriken out of CDs scary?!_

“I thought she was scary! She made food come to life. Imagine a cupcake trying to eat you! Cupcakes are supposed to be cute and tasty, not ferocious!”

Was there an akuma attack Adrien didn’t know about?

He couldn’t take it anymore. He had to find out what the hell they were talking about. Nothing was making any sense and his head was starting to hurt. He plastered on his nicest smile and finally turned around.

“Good morning, guys.” He greeted as softly as he could, trying to conceal his slight edge.

All three pairs of eyes landed on him. Small smiles grew on each of their faces.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop but I overheard you three talking about someone bringing food to life yesterday. Didn’t the akuma throw CD shuriken and create earthquakes?”

The girls all looked at each other once again before bursting into a fit of giggles. Was there something he didn’t get? Was the whole conversation some weird inside joke?

“Oh no! We weren’t talking about the akuma from yesterday! This all happened in a LadyNoir fanfiction that we all read. The author posted a new chapter last night and there was a scene with an attack.” Alya finally answered. Adrien raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“LadyNoir? Fanfiction? I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

He’d heard Alya mention those terms before, but he‘d never really questioned them. He just thought it was some inside thing between her and Marinette. But hearing those words in _that_ context, he couldn’t help but be curious.

“Don’t even bother asking bro. You don’t want to get into... _that_.” He heard Nino say beside him, his friend still looking down at his homework.

Adrien glanced over at him, but quickly looked back at the girls when he heard Alya mumble something angrily under her breath.

“It’s nothing bad, Nino. Everyone’s read fanfiction.” She defended.

“Yeah, well not me. And not my boy, Adrien over here.”

Alya rolled her eyes dramatically before turning her attention back on the blond.

“Don’t listen to him. Nino marathons Back to the Future almost every weekend and calls that fun.”

Adrien raised his eyebrows at her remark and felt a small, tired laugh escape him.

“That _is_ true.” He said.

“Whose side are you on!?”

Alya glared at the boy once more before looking back at Adrien.

“So, what I was _trying_ to say was that fanfictions are like stories about two people, whether fictional or nonfictional, getting together. Like the one we’re reading now. It’s a story about Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

Adrien felt his face heat up again.

“So, um, like a _love_ story?”

“Yeah!” Rose chimed in. Juleka smiled in agreement right beside her.

“A love story... about Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

“Yup.”

“And you guys _want_ them to be together?”

“Who _doesn’t_ want them together? I mean, don’t you think they would make such a great couple?”

Adrien glanced over at Nino for some guidance – for anything really – but he saw how preoccupied the other teen was and instead sighed internally. Would he and Ladybug make a great couple? Well, he liked to think so. Even though they didn’t know each other’s identities, he thought he loved her and that he would do anything for her… However, he also knew that this love was only one-sided.

He didn’t really know how to answer.

“I-I’m not sure. I’ve never really thought about it to tell you the truth.”

Rose leaned against Juleka’s side as she clasped her hands together and brought them near the side of her face, looking up dreamily.

“I think they absolutely love each other.”

_Oh, if only you knew._

“Yeah, I don’t know about Ladybug, but Chat totally has the hots for her.” Juleka added.

_You have no idea._

“I think Ladybug has a thing for that slick cat too. I’ve seen their sexual tension up close, trust me.”

A weird sound left Adrien’s lips, and he quickly covered his mouth as his whole face reddened. He could practically _feel_ Plagg’s laughter coming from his bag and quickly cleared his throat loudly to drown out the sound just in case anyone else heard.

“Um sorry, I swallowed wrong. Sexual tension you say?”

Alya gave Adrien a weird look before she shrugged.

“Yeah, like the way they just flirt with each other. I mean, none of us can really hear any of it since they’re always too far away, but we can all just _tell_.”

“It’s so frustrating.” Juleka added.

Adrien almost laughed at that.

_You find it frustrating? Just imagine how frustrating it must be for me._

“What’s the story called?” He heard himself ask, his mind having tried to change the subject but also having failed when he realized that he showed more interest on the subject.

And maybe he was interested, but he didn’t want to admit that to himself yet. Wanting to read something about yourself was probably considered creepy. He avoided the magazines with his face plastered on the pages for that same reason, but he couldn’t help his curiosity with this fanfiction thing. Did they get his personality right? Did they portray him as strong and independent or as some dorky sidekick? What about his Lady? How do they think his Lady feels when she sees him?

How _does_ she feel?

He definitely needed to take a pill for his headache when he got home.

Rose’s smile widened at his question and it looked as if she were holding in a squeal.

“You want to actually read it?! That’s so great!”

Nino sighed beside him and Adrien tried to ignore the judgement hidden underneath it.

He laughed awkwardly.

“I’m not sure about actually reading it. I just want to get more of an understanding of this whole fanfiction and LadyNote thing.”

Alya giggled.

“You mean Lady _Noir_.”

“Yeah, that thing.”

_Whatever that is._

They all gave him each a smile of approval before Alya wrote the story info down on a ripped piece of line paper and handed it to him.

“Have fun _researching_.” The girl then said, giving him a quick wink and another laugh before the homeroom bell rang and everyone left to their next class.

* * *

Luckily, Ladybug was just as tired as he was, so their patrol only lasted about half an hour – just a quick check around the city. Yawns filled up the quiet night sky as they both jumped and swung from building to building. Chat was a little more rested than his partner since he had gotten to nap as soon as he‘d gotten home. His wish had been granted. A huge storm had rolled in and all his practices had been cancelled for the remainder of the day. He’d taken that opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep. Neither of them were really as social as they usually were with one another. It was one of those lazy, tired patrols where they cracked a few remarks here and there but remained quiet for the most part. He didn’t really mind that though. Sometimes he found the silence to be calming. Everything in his life was always so structured and crazy, so having some peace and quiet with the love of his life from time-to-time helped him feel more at ease.

With one last goodbye, they both separated and retreated back to their homes, a tired smile playing across the blond’s face. As soon as he de-transformed in his bedroom, he fed Plagg the camembert he had waiting for him on his desk and immediately changed into his sweats.

“Wow. It’s only ten-forty.” He commented aloud as he checked his phone, quickly answering Nino’s texts about some song he heard on the radio.

“That’s good. Now you can finally go to sleep early and I don’t have to hear your constant complaints about how tired you are.” He heard his kwami say as he stuffed another bite of that smelly cheese into his mouth.

“I’ve only complained to you twice!”

Plagg scoffed.

“Yeah, twice _an hour_.”

Adrien rolled his eyes as he walked himself to his computers.

“Whatever. Just finish your cheese. I’m going to sleep soon, but I want to check something first.”

Plagg didn’t speak for a while and the teenager sat himself down in front of the several screens, typing in the name of the story Alya had told him about in google. Apparently this _fanfiction_ was called _Late Night Hour_ by someone named _FrenchBeauty95._ He didn’t know what to think of it at that moment. The summary explained the plot to be about Ladybug screwing up an akuma attack and Chat Noir having to fix everything – that thought did not really sit well in his stomach. He of course knew that this was fiction – a completely made up scenario – but just thinking about the possibility of having to handle an akuma by himself without his Lady sent a horrible chill down his spine. However, he sucked it up and continued scrolling through the webpage.

Apparently, _thousands_ of people had read that story already, and his mouth practically flew open. Thousands of people read about him and Ladybug – _wanted_ to read about him and Ladybug – being _together_. His cheeks flushed once again and he quickly shook his head before he spun his chair away from the screens, trying to conceal the embarrassment evident on his face.

“What’s got you all worked up _now_?” Plagg said, done with his meal and floating over to his friend who seemed to be having a mental breakdown.

“Thousands of people read about me and Ladybug.”

“And? Isn’t that the point of the blog thing, for everyone to read about you two?”

Plagg signaled Adrien to open his hands that were rested on his lap and the blond quickly obliged. The kwami floated down to rest himself against his palms.

“Groooooss. Your hands are sweaty!”  

He did not, however, leave his resting place **.**

“Plagg, this isn’t about Alya’s blog, this is- they read-”

He groaned.

“Wait. Is this about that story thing they were telling you about earlier?”

Adrien just nodded.

“You humans and your weird problems. Just don’t read the thing! Who cares!”

“I do! Alya told me that in this story Chat Noir and Ladybug _kiss_.”

“Okay, but it’s not like it’ll actually happen!”

Adrien scowled down at the kwami.

Plagg groaned.

“Just go and read it since you want to so bad. I’m going to sleep.”

The teen’s eyes widened.

“I-I don’t! Why would I?! That’s weird and-”

Plagg groaned yet again before floating away to Adrien’s bed.

“Plagg, I don’t want to!”

“Sure, and I hate camembert. Goodnight.”

Adrien was about to say something else but the words got lost in his throat when he turned back to face the screens. He reread the summary a few more times and tried to even listen to some music on another tab to keep himself distracted to prove to Plagg that he would never read something like that. However, he only lasted about four minutes before he returned to the webpage and started the first chapter.

_I’m only reading this to make sure they don’t know any personal details about me. That’s the only reason. Just a few lines and I’ll be done._

He read all twenty-three chapters.

* * *

After having read up to the most recent updated chapter of _Late Night Hour,_ Adrien found that he couldn’t go back to sleep. The last chapter still had his heart beating fast in his chest, his hands still sweaty from his own nervousness and excitement. The kiss scene that the three girls spoke of was _very_ descriptive, to the point where Adrien could imagine the whole scenario vividly in his head as if it had played out in front of him. His face was red, _so_ red and he couldn’t help but look up at the ceiling in thought.

Ladybug kissed Chat _back_ in the story. She yanked his bell and pulled him closer to her so she could reassure him that she felt the same way. Adrien _melted_. It was as if someone wrote down one of his dreams and made it seem so much more real. He couldn’t help himself, he wanted to know what people thought about this kind of stuff, what they thought about LadyNoir (which he also found out was the combination of his and his Lady’s names), why everyone chooses to call him and his lady Felix and Bridgette when they’re in their civilian form, and why he hadn’t known about this sooner.

He wanted to ask the three girls all kinds of questions that he now had, since he felt that they would know the answer to them, but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to admit his new guilty pleasure. What if others found out? What if they would judge him for it? He knew Nino would never let him live it down and he also didn’t want to be labeled as that guy that reads stories about Ladybug and Chat Noir making out. He felt that he would be seen as some kind of pervert or something. And what if Ladybug found out somehow? He would probably die from embarrassment.

He finally decided to keep the whole thing to himself, at least publicly that is. In the privacy of his own home, however, he would talk about it online with other people. Under the account name _FelineGood16_ he began to comment on stories, post his thoughts on chapters in blog threads, and gained all the answers he had been wanting without anyone knowing who he really was. It wasn’t necessarily the most productive thing he could’ve been doing with his time, but it was one of the more exciting options.

* * *

 “Guys, last night’s update got me pretty pissed, not gonna lie.” Alya, said behind him, Adrien nodding in silent agreement. His fists were clenched on his lap and Nino was trying to explain how he was a living, human magnet for pigeon crap, Adrien nodding slowly, trying very hard to focus on his friend’s rant. However, he couldn’t find the strength to do so – the update still fresh in his mind.

He‘d read it only minutes before, in his car, while the Gorilla drove him to school. It was short, angsty, and made him curse the day he ever decided reading the thing would be a good idea. It was the _reveal_ chapter and he didn’t think it could’ve gone any worse even if it were written by a new born baby. In the chapter, Ladybug revealed herself to Chat, wanting to pursue a real romantic relationship with him with no secrets holding them back. Reading the chapter in the beginning, Adrien felt his heart racing, his hands sweating, and had hope blooming in his chest so intensely that he felt like a whole field of flowers was going to sprout from it any minute. This was the day where his wildest dream was going to be written in front of him. Where he was finally going to get a possible outcome of what could happen if his Lady were to share her identity with him. He knew that, in real life, he would probably cry from elation, his arms immediately embracing the girl before him, no matter who she was. However, instead, the author decided that Chat Noir rejecting her and disregarding all of their intimate past moments was the more realistic route, and hell, was Adrien _pissed_. To think, he even put up with those horrible puns too.

Having to read the love of his life feel such pain due to his own unrealistic response was absolutely killing him inside and he wasn’t sure how to hold in his opinions on the matter. He was already in the process of creating a long argument along with proof on why that chapter was completely impractical and unjustified for his Tumblr later on.

“Alya, breathe. It’s just a story. The author wanted to rile you guys up like this for shock value. They’ll probably resolve things next chapter. No biggy.” Marinette said.

“It _is_ a biggy, Mari! If you actually read these fics, you’d totally understand why we’re so mad. I for one hate how dependent they write Ladybug in these stories. Like girl almost caused an akuma attack in this chapter because the dude rejected her! I’m just tired of it!”

_Exactly!_

“And Chat Noir always monologues about how he’d always love Ladybug, no matter who she was behind the mask. But, when she finally finds the courage, he rejects her? Totally not cool.” Juleka adds, Adrien nodding his head in agreement once again.

_Even they understand!_

“What I’m saying is that it would be awesome to finally have a story where they end up happy for once, where their relationship isn’t so forced, and where it just feels more _real_.”

Adrien found his fists unclenching slightly under his desk, his eyebrows furrowed.

_More real. Yeah._

“Well, if you crave that so much then why don’t you write your own?”

Adrien’s eyes widened and he felt his face heat up immediately, Marinette’s words echoing in his mind repeatedly.

_Write your own._

“Yeah,” Adrien muttered under his breath, a small smile growing on his lips, “Maybe I wi-“

“Dude. Have you even been listening to me?”

The blond shook his head slightly and turned to face his best friend who looked at him like he grew a second head. He chuckled awkwardly.

“Yeah, dude! Of course, pigeon crap is the worst.”

Nino continued to stare at the boy, his lips formed in a small frown.

“I wasn’t talking about that anymore.”

“I’m sorry, man. Kind of zoned out a bit. And not because of what you were saying but I…”

What was he supposed to say? _I’m sorry I wasn’t paying attention to you, I couldn’t stop hearing about the updated chapter of one of my favorite fanfictions because it seriously pissed me off since I’m the real Chat Noir and find it ridiculous that the author wrote me as some careless, self-absorbed douche that only thinks about himself?_

“I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

Nino’s expression softened and he sighed before patting his buddy on the shoulder lightly.

“I swear, if you don’t start getting your snooze on, I’m gonna barge into your house myself and make sure your old man changes your schedule up or else.”

Adrien smiled, amused.

“Or else what? You’ll DJ him to death?”

“Dude, I make some good ass tunes, but trust me if I need to make a torture mix, I can and _will._ And it won’t be pretty. Just imagine a twenty-four-hour loop of _Pen Pineapple Apple Pen_ except every time he says apple, it speeds up.”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes.”

“I’ll try to get some more sleep then for my father’s sake.”

Nino laughed and nudged the other boy with his elbow.

“I’m serious, you need to start taking better care of yourself.”

“Yeah, I know.”

He thought about Marinette’s words the rest of the day.                                

* * *

“I’m a disgusting human being.” Adrien said, his body turned away from his screens in his swivel chair. His eyelids were droopy and his yawns were beginning to sound more powerful than before, however, all he could think about was the plot he‘d thought up in his head.

Plagg floated over to him, landing on his shoulder with his piece of cheese almost finished.

“While that is completely true, what made _you_ come to that realization?”

“You’re hilarious.”

“And you’re dramatic. What happened, kid?”

Adrien sighed and turned back to his screens, the opened document on all three staring at him judgmentally.

“I’m going to write a story about one of my best friends… _ending up_ with me and they have no idea.”

“Yeah, that is pretty disgusting.”

“Plagg!”

“Well what do you want me to say?!”

“That I’m not disgusting! T-that it’s not weird and that it’s not like I’m going to reveal anything personal about us anyway so there’s no real harm? I don’t know! Humor me!”

“I don’t see why you have to involve me in your creepy romance issues. If you want to do it then just do it!”

Adrien groaned and sunk into his seat, Plagg popping the last bit of his camembert in his mouth before sighing.

“She’s going to hate me if she finds out. I shouldn’t. I really shouldn’t.”

“Look kid, you’re always busy doing things that other people want you to do. You never really have time for yourself and if this is what will make you happy and hopefully change that around, then go for it. She’s probably never going to find out unless you tell her. And either way, I don’t think she’d be mad.”

“You really think so?”

“Yes, now please turn down the brightness of those things so I can sleep in peace for once.”

Adrien sat up in his seat, his smile genuine and his feet scooting himself closer to his floating kwami.

“Ah, you do care,” Adrien opened his hands on his lap. “Come here.”

“No, gross. I can smell your putrid, human stench from here. But, if you do want to show your appreciation, another piece of camembert would suffice.”

Adrien snorted.

“Yeah, and have you vomit all over my sheets again? No way. Father still thinks the chef tried poisoning me.”

“Last time I ever give you advice,” Plagg floated to his spot on Adrien’s bed soon after. “Goodnight. And remember about the brightness.”

A few minutes later Adrien turned off the lights and retreated to his computers, his eyes staring down at the keyboard in front of him like it was forbidden to touch it. His cheeks flushed as he thought about his plot and he shook his head a little when he heard Plagg’s small snores arise from behind him.

_If Plagg says it’s okay then it must be, right?_

After a few more seconds of contemplation he nodded and began typing, a small smile on his face as Marinette’s words appeared in his mind again. He tried to make his words sound as genuine as possible when describing his Lady, not wanting to hold back his admiration for her courage, strength, intelligence, and beauty.

* * *

 

**Chapter 1 of “The Empty Streets of Paris”**

**\--by _FelineGood16_ on FanWorkz.net**

 

He sees her sitting on the edge of the building, her legs swinging back and forth as she stares at their city beneath her spotted feet. Her right cheek is cut from the akuma they fought earlier, the bit of skin revealed under her bangs bruised too. She’s injured yet she’s smiling as if all the happiness in the world is being held in her small hands. He can’t stop looking, not really knowing what to say to the person that saved his life only a few minutes ago. Chat Noir remains standing behind her, wondering how the world looks in the eyes of his knight.

She looks over her shoulder and meets his gaze, her smile still intact and his heart filling the night sky with the sounds of its rapid beating.

“Come here.” She says, patting the empty spot next to her.

She isn’t bleeding anymore, but Chat Noir still feels guilty about the whole situation. She’s hurt because of his own carelessness. He wants to sit next to her, but he can’t shake off that feeling, like it was all his fault. Besides, they both don’t have that much time left until they transform back and he knows how protective she is of her identity.

“Don’t you have to go?” He asks, his voice barely a whisper. He didn’t want her to leave.

She chuckles.

“Just sit next to me, you silly cat.”

* * *

Adrien didn’t really know what to expect when he posted his first chapter. He posted the link on his blog so his online acquaintances could see, so they could give him some feedback. But he never in his right mind expected all the attention his chapter got in the next few days.

He posted it on a Wednesday night, receiving a few likes the next morning from the other blogs he had chatted with before along with a few positive comments that made his day much brighter. And that’s all he really expected. However, the likes and reblogs on his tumblr post started growing. Emails slowly and then _quickly_ began to come through to notify him of all the reads, comments, subscribers, and votes he was getting on his three-thousand-word chapter.

Apparently, a popular blog had reblogged him one day, complimenting his writing and _potential_ and it was history from then on (at least for him that is). He wasn’t really sure how to react for a while, finding himself frozen whenever he stared at his phone screen and saw a new notification.

_Do I respond to each comment?_

_Do I update today or next week?_

_Do they like the characterization?_

_Do I make the next chapter longer than the first?_

He wasn’t sure what to do in his situation, not having anybody to talk to about it. He couldn’t ask Nino since he felt that his friend would only tease him and ask about his mental state. He felt that if he told Alya, the rest of the class would find out and he couldn’t have that. His online buddies weren’t really much help, only nagging him to just update already. And he really didn’t want to bother Plagg about it since he felt that the Kwami would just give him the whole “You humans and your dumb issues” spiel again, but he couldn’t take it anymore. He needed guidance. And even though he was absolutely certain that Plagg knew crap about anything relating to fanfiction, his kwami was still a small god and still very wise (when he wanted to be at least), so he sucked it up and finally asked him.

“I say live it up my friend.” Plagg simply responded.

Adrien smirked and nodded in both determination and agreement, giving Plagg extra camembert that afternoon. The kwami was right. Why was he freaking out about people liking his writing? He shouldn’t take positive feedback as something to be feared but instead as a challenge to do better, to write something that the people will never forget. His read count was growing by the day. Going from three hundred to eight hundred to a thousand to _three thousand_. It was almost astonishing, but as he reread his own work and compared it to fanfictions he’s read, he knew that his would end up ranking even higher. He had what they were all lacking. _Actual experiences._ And yes, he knew that his story was fictional and that what happened in the story never had and or probably never would happen between him and his Lady in real life. But he saw her mannerisms up close. He knew how she used her yoyo and her Lucky Charm – how truly amazing she was. He’d explored almost every inch of Paris thousands of times and knew how the blows from those akumas felt right to his bones.

His story wasn’t nonfictional, of course, but it was going to have that _real_ feeling he’d heard so many desiring and he couldn’t wait to show it to them.

* * *

“Did you read the update last night?” Rose asked from behind, Adrien’s head rested in his arms as he grew a small tired smile. They were talking about _his_ story again. A few weeks had passed since he posted the first chapter and now he had almost twelve thousand reads, five thousand votes, and a lot of overwhelming exhaustion. He had finally finished his fourth chapter the day before, staying up till almost two in the morning to post it. He was tired, and his body seemed to desire sleep more than air, but he didn’t care. Everyone was liking his writing – something he did for himself – and he was cherishing every minute of it.

“Of course, I almost wept when I read that Ladybug saved all those policemen from that fire! It was so intense, but I knew my girl would pull through! So badass!” Alya said.

“And when she dodged that left hook from behind! Super awesome.” Juleka added, the three girls continuing to admire the fight scene between Ladybug and Human Flare (the fire creating akuma Adrien made up).

He‘d gotten the idea for the villain from a conversation him and Ladybug had one day about akumas. They had just fought one that could create tornadoes from blended smoothies and Ladybug couldn’t help but comment on Hawkmoth’s creativity soon after.

“I swear, these akumas are starting to get ridiculous. I mean smoothie tornadoes? Really!? Why doesn’t he ever give them a normal power like teleportation or telepathy?” She complained, the two of them laying on top of some vacant office building that had too many windows to count.

“Or the ability to control any element! Now that would be interesting to see.”

Ladybug snorted.

“I see someone watches Avatar.”

“Hey, that show was _purr_ fect and you know it!” He defended, turning to face her. She did the same.

“Fine! I will admit that you have a point there. Even though you could’ve made it without the horrible pun.”

“My puns are _cat-_ tastic and I know that you secretly enjoy them.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Your affection and approval always does the trick, my Lady.”

She rolled her eyes before looking back up at the sky, her gaze turned away from him.

“Then it looks like you’re going to have trouble sleeping, Chaton.”

“ _Meow-_ ch,”

Ladybug giggled and Chat felt warmth spread throughout his body. They stayed silent for a while, the two of them staring at the birds flying above them, the color in the sky beginning to turn from blue to dark shades of red.

“Yeah, controlling fire would be neat, huh?” She said.

Chat hummed peacefully in response and Adrien smiled at the memory as he continued listening in on the girls’ conversation.

“The fight scenes were very descriptive. But I think the akuma’s costume needed more pink!”

Juleka snorted.

“Rose, you think everything needs more pink.”

“Because it does!”

The three of them laughed and Adrien had to suppress his own chuckle. Rose was so innocent.

“What about Chat Noir?” Adrien’s eyes widened a little at Marinette’s abrupt words. Whenever the three others would talk about fanfiction, the blue-eyed girl would usually remain quiet since she didn’t seem so interested in the subject. However, there she was behind him, asking about his story with her tone sounding a bit serious and Adrien was honestly surprised and curious as to what she was going to say.

“What about him?” Alya asked, sounding a bit surprised herself.

“I’ve heard you guys discuss these updates but I never really hear you guys talk about Chat Noir in this _amazing_ story as an individual. Did he do anything in this chapter during the attack or was it all just Ladybug?”

Marinette’s emphasis on that certain adjective made Adrien nervous.

“Well, he did use his Cataclysm, but Ladybug mostly did all the work.” Alya answered.

“Hmm,” Marinette simply said, the blond not knowing what to think of that vague response.

_Does she find something wrong with that?_

_What does she mean?_

“Well, looks like _amazing_ writer here doesn’t really know how to write them well then, huh?” She elaborated.

Adrien felt his heart stop.

_What?_

“Mari, you haven’t even read it yet. This person has got their personalities on _point_.” Alya defended.

“In what way? Because it sounds like they think Chat Noir is just some useless sidekick. And that’s not very realistic, is it?”

Adrien felt his body stiffen for a reason unknown to him and his cheeks began to warm up. He didn’t understand what he was hearing or why he was acting that way.

Nino seemed to notice his sudden shift in behavior since Adrien felt his friend’s hand rest on his shoulder.

“Hey, dude everything alright?”

Adrien brought up his head slightly enough so to give his best friend a small nod and a forced reassuring smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine. My phone vibrated in my pocket and it just startled me a bit.”

“Ah, okay. Well, go back to sleep dude. Homeroom’s almost done and you look dead.”

Adrien nodded again before laying his head back down, concealing his tense expression.

Not realistic? How was he not realistic? The fight sequences were written based on his own experiences. The moves he wrote for both of them were what usually happened. He wanted so badly to ask Marinette what she thought Chat actually did in a fight to get her take on things, to see what she sees. But, he couldn’t and it was frustrating him.

However, Alya ended up asking her for him.

“What do you mean useless? The writer wrote him using Cataclysm, his _signature_ move _._ ”

“But that’s not all he does, Alya. He helps plan. He hides civilians from danger. He’s saved Ladybug plenty of times! He risks his life almost every damn akuma attack! This author is pretty much saying that all he does is cause destruction when he actually stops it from happening. Yeah, Ladybug does work and helps a lot, but without Chat Noir, she wouldn’t be able to succeed. They’re equals and the writer just doesn’t seem to understand that. That’s all I’m saying.”

_So that’s what she sees._

Adrien was honestly touched by his classmate’s words. Even though she‘d ragged on his story, he truly appreciated her reasoning for it. It wasn’t every day that he heard a civilian defend him like that, especially not as passionately as Marinette had.

He wanted to hug her.

“Damn girl. I didn’t know you felt so deeply about this.”

“Yeah, Marinette! Your speech was so sweet! I hope the writer writes more about Chat Noir like you said!” Rose chimed.

Juleka didn’t say anything, most likely nodding in response. Adrien was tired and although he’d promised himself the day before that he wouldn’t start writing the next chapter for a few days to catch up on sleep, after hearing Marinette’s words, he wanted to write it immediately. He wanted to impress the girl that thought he was more than what he’s worth, even if he had to suffer through a few more sleepless nights in order to do so.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is a giant nerd that needs a nap

Adrien’s yawns filled the dark spaces of his room, his eyes stinging from exhaustion with his fingers still typing rapidly. He was frustrated, _so_ frustrated, and constantly found himself ignoring Plagg’s constant complaints about how late it was.

He always hated how his father regarded him as someone impatient and ill **-** tempered. He always did what he was told with a forced smile – always following along with Chloe’s plans even when he preferred to stay home and play video games; always trying to maintain that image of _perfection_ that his father enforced. So, he was honestly confused and annoyed with his father’s view of him.

However, there he was still sitting in his swivel chair with the seat cushion beginning to feel too warm from lack of movement at two in the morning - on a school night - all because he wanted to prove something to one of his classmates. Perhaps Gabriel wasn’t so far from the truth. It’d been two weeks since he heard Marinette speak her mind, and he still hadn’t let go of her words. He wanted her approval of his story, he wanted her to enjoy it. He’d updated three times since that day, giving his alter ego more moves, dialogue, and anything else he could think of so the blue-eyed girl would give it a second chance. But, no matter what he did, nothing was good enough for her.

He would be alert the morning after he updated in class to hear Marinette’s reaction when Alya would discuss it, but her words were either vague, negative, or frustratingly lacking any interest whatsoever.

He just wanted to know what was wrong, what she would consider to be adequate, and he wasn’t going to give up until he found the answer.

“Adrien, I swear if you don’t go to sleep right now I’m going to eat the chords that let those things live.”

Adrien didn’t look back at the kwami, keeping his eyes locked on his screens. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he skimmed over his previous sentences. He was mindlessly tapping his fingers against his mouse in an impatient rhythm.

“You won’t because if you do you’ll get electrocuted.”

The dialogue between Ladybug and a civilian was beginning to get too wordy. He started deleting a few lines.

“Did you forget that I’m a _god_ and that I’ve been alive for tens of thousands of years? I’ve gone through worse things than a simple jolt, kid. This’ll be nothing.”

Adrien didn’t reply, ignoring his friend to continue fixing his writing.

“I’ll make your suit pink.”

_Should Ladybug use Lucky Charm after this or towards the end?_

“I’ll make you smell like aged camembert.”

_What would Marinette think? Maybe Chat Noir should talk to the civilian with her._

“I swear I’ll do it. Don’t underestimate me!”

Adrien rubbed his tired eyes - felt his eyelids begin to droop more and more. If anyone were to see him in the state he was in at that moment, they probably wouldn’t have recognized him. His eyes were squinted tiredly, trying to stay open to focus on his work. He had strands of hair sticking out everywhere, some falling over his eyes from time to time while others were tickling his ears irritatingly. And his plain white t-shirt was stained with small drops of coffee that he hadn’t noticed yet. He was the image of pure exhaustion and dishevelment.  

_But what if she thinks I’m trying too hard to include Chat Noir in like last time?_

“Kid.”

_Am I writing myself too cliché? Is that the issue?_

“ADRIEN!”

The teen practically jumped out of his seat - Plagg floated right in front of his face so he could finally look at him.

“Lower your voice, Plagg!” Adrien whispered, scooting himself a bit back to give himself more space between him and the kwami, his hands in the air. “Someone could’ve heard you!”

“Well you weren’t giving me much of a choice! You were off obsessing over your girlfriend again and ignoring me!”

“I told you,” He yawned, his shoulders slumping forward from fatigue after doing so. “I’m not writing this because I’m _obsessed_ with Ladybug. I just want to write something more believable.”

“Not her, pigtails from your class that you won’t shut up about! You need to sleep!”

“Plagg, Marinette’s not my girlfriend and I’m not obsessing over her. And I’m going to bed soon, I just need to finish this chapter up. I’m almost done.”

“You said that three hours ago! And if you weren’t obsessed with her than you wouldn’t still be hung up on what she said to you two weeks ago! _And_ you’d be asleep right now!”

Adrien groaned and rubbed his face up and down with both of his cold hands in frustration.

“I just want her to like the story.”

“Why do you care so much? I thought we agreed that you were doing this for yourself, but now you’re here trying to please this one chick that you hardly even talk to.”

Adrien wanted to be mad at Plagg – he really did since Marinette was his friend and he should be defending their somewhat friendship – but he felt that he wasn’t going to win with the god no matter what he said. Besides, his kwami did have a point. He originally started writing the story for himself, but now all he seemed to care about was whether or not it was good enough for his classmate. He had so many expectations set on him by everyone, and he was now beginning to set some on himself too. His voice was also starting to get groggy and he didn’t like the way it sounded. It was too low for his liking and as of recent he’d been saying things that sounded much more coherent in his head but didn’t make sense when said out loud and it really annoyed him. So, he stayed quiet, only muttering an “okay” before saving his work, shutting off his computers, and going to sleep.

As soon as his head hit the pillow, his eyes closed and he _immediately_ fell into a deep sleep. It was the eighth night in a row that he didn’t dream of anything and he wasn’t sure whether to be concerned about that or not.

* * *

 

Adrien’s arms were crossed over his chest as he walked down the steps of the school alongside Nino. His friend wouldn’t stop staring at him as if he was afraid he was going to break any minute. The blond was about to comment on his behavior until he fell abruptly to the ground, not having noticed that he missed two steps. Luckily his books were in his bag so nothing important got damaged other than his pride.

“Shit!” Nino said before he immediately bent down to help his friend, his hands grabbing onto one of the boy’s thin arms to lift him up.

Adrien just sighed dramatically in response, looking forward to see if the Gorilla saw any of that. However, he noticed that the man had still not shown up yet.

_He probably took father to work today._

He heard a small groan coming from his bag – he was going to have to check up on Plagg later.

“Thanks, Nino.” He said in a weak tone once he stood up completely, placing his bag on his shoulder once again.

“Hey, why don’t you let me carry your bag for you today?”

Adrien blinked a few times before he shook his head, rubbing his right eye after that was beginning to burn in the corner.

“I’m fine.”

He was about to continue walking again until he felt Nino’s hand on his shoulder.

 “Dude, I’m starting to get worried about you. _This_ isn’t cool.”

“I just tripped. It happens to everybody.”

Nino sighed and if Adrien wasn’t so tired he probably would’ve cared more about the boy’s evident concern in his eyes. But at the moment all he wanted to do was eat lunch and maybe nap on Nino’s couch again like last time.

The brunette honestly looked surprised with his response and began to motion the blond’s whole body with his free hand up and down rapidly.

“ _This,_ is what I’m talking about.”

“This?”

“Yes, _this_ , as in you looking like total crap. I mean, your eye bags are darker than Chloe’s soul and that’s fucking saying a lot.”

Adrien usually would’ve chuckled at that, but he found it too hard to do so. He wasn’t really up for engaging in general. He was exhausted, hungry, and was still frustrated with himself that he slept through his alarm and missed homeroom. He really wanted to hear Marinette’s thoughts on his most recent chapter. He felt that it was his best so far.

“I’m tired. What do you expect?”

His tone was intended to sound harsh so Nino would let the subject go, but instead it sounded like a mumbled mess, his voice going deep _again_. He mentally rolled his eyes at the thought.

“I expect you to _sleep_!”

“I am sleeping.”

“How many hours a day?”

“I-I don’t know! Enough!”

Nino brought his hand back to his side and sighed once more.

“Do you want me to talk to your dad? Maybe I could convince him to let you stay home tomorrow. You need rest, bro. Like _bad_.”

Adrien yawned lightly and placed both of his hands on his friend’s shoulders, his back hunched over slightly. He smiled as reassuringly as someone who was running on four hours of sleep could and looked the boy straight in the eye.

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m okay. Honestly. I’ll even make sure to sleep early today if it’ll help you chill.”

“I am chill!”

Adrien genuinely laughed at that, feeling the sound rise up from his throat weakly.

“Yeah, like a cucumber,” He let his hands fall into his pockets. “Now let’s go. Gorilla’s almost here and I need coffee.”

“See! Since when do you drink coffee?!”

“Ugghhh Nino!”

Nino put both of his hands up in defense.

“Sorry, I’m chill! I’m chill! Promise!”

The blond nodded and the two began to walk closer to the street, the boys falling into a small discussion about a videogame that Nino’s cousin recommended to him last week. Adrien really tried to pay attention as much as he could since he actually did enjoy Nino’s stories. But, his mind was zoning out from time to time, and with the sounds of all the rushing cars, people, animals, and even the wind, he wasn’t really sure what to focus on. Everything seemed so much louder than it usually was and he felt that he was drifting further away from reality.

_What’s happening to me?_

Nino was in the middle of explaining something about some cheat codes on a website when he was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Like, how can you enjoy a game if you get by using these codes?! It’s no lo-“

“Hey, guys. Whatcha up to?”

They both turned around to meet the faces of his two classmates. Alya and Marinette’s arms were linked together and the blue-eyed girl was staring right at him with her eyes widened and her cheeks a bright red flush. Alya’s hold on the girl looked forceful, but Adrien didn’t care enough to question it. However, he did give them a friendly smile, resisting the urge to stare at Marinette for too long.

_Did she talk about my story again today?_

_What is she thinking about?_

“Nothing much, about to head back to my place for some lunch. What about you ladies?”

Nino gave Alya a _knowing_ look that Adrien was too oblivious to understand and the girl pulled Marinette closer to her to catch her attention. Adrien was still just standing there smiling, not really aware of what to do, but enjoying the company anyway.

“Well, Marinette and I were going to actually try this new café a few blocks away. We would love it if two, cool dudes joined us,” Alya cleared her throat two times, the second time being much louder than the first. “Right, Marinette?”

The other teen nodded quickly.

“Y-yes! Café…nice and cool like you two! Which is why we should all go… t-together,” Adrien looked at her again and noticed how difficult it was for her to meet his gaze. He always wondered why she was so nervous around him _specifically_. He felt that maybe the reason was correlated to her opinions on his writing in some way. Marinette’s eyes widened again and her ears grew red at the tips. “And not like together as in _together_ together because it’s not like we’re like that! Just four classmates going to a café to eat an-“

Alya’s hand instantly slapped over her friend’s mouth, stopping her mid-sentence. Adrien always found Marinette and Alya’s friendship amusing and endearing in many ways. They were always so comfortable around one another and acted more like sisters than friends that had known each other for less than a year. He knew he was close to Nino too, however, he did find himself holding back sometimes with him. He really didn’t know what actions and words were considered _too_ much.

Alya laughed awkwardly - Marinette mumbled something in her hand in response that no one could decipher.

“So, you in or what?”

Nino and Adrien looked over at each other, the brunette raising his eyebrows in questioning before Adrien shrugged and nodded. He gave the two girls a tired smile.

“Yeah, we’re in.”

He saw the way Nino winked at Alya after, the two of them staring at each other for a while as if they were having some sort of silent conversation with one another.

_Nino seriously needs to ask her out already._

The blond glanced back over at the street to see if his father’s employee was anywhere near by and shrugged before sending him a quick text concerning his whereabouts.

Alya finally removed her hand from Marinette’s face and the girl gasped before glaring at her friend.

“I almost suffocated!” He heard her whisper to the other teen while they all started walking together.

“Well, you didn’t and you can thank me later.”

Adrien and Nino followed closely behind them as they let the two girls lead the way. The walk to the café wasn’t necessarily quiet but was still calming since the only sounds were Nino and Alya’s playful banter. Marinette and Adrien both remained silent, the two of them somehow ending up side-by-side one another on the way to the building. He didn’t remember how it had happened, but he figured it had something to do with his two other friends since they were walking ahead of them as if they didn’t exist.

Adrien started to take note of Marinette’s very close proximity more and more as the minutes passed and knew that he had to say something since the peaceful atmosphere was beginning to become tainted with awkwardness. He cleared his throat and glanced down at her to see she was already staring at him. Her cheeks flushed again once he met her eyes and she quickly looked away.

_Why is she so nervous around me?_

“So, the weather’s nice today.” He said.

_Good one, Adrien._

“Y-yeah, it is. The sky is nice too.”

“Agreed,” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Hasn’t looked this blue in a while.”

She hummed in agreement and they both continued to walk behind Alya and Nino who were discussing the Ladyblog. Whenever the girl talked about Ladybug, everyone else could hear it. Her charisma seeped through her words and her voice always got high and loud. He’d probably be the same way when it came to discussing the heroine or even his own writing if he wasn’t too afraid to do so.

He yawned loudly, his eyes closing for a brief second.

“Alya really likes Ladybug, huh?”

Marinette made a startled noise at the sound of Adrien’s abrupt words and went wide-eyed once more before nodding.

“S-sorry! But…um…yeah she does like Ladyblob,” Adrien tilted his head a bit in confusion and glanced down at the shy girl next to him.

“Ladybl-“

“LADY _BUG_ ,” Adrien rose his eyebrows in surprise and Marinette smiled nervously. “I mean _Ladybug!”_

He could’ve swore he heard her mumble a curse word under her breath after, but he also could’ve been imagining things.

“Ah,” They both stopped in front of a crosswalk, waiting for the few rushing cars to drive passed. “What about you?”

He wanted to tease her a bit about what she said. Ask her how she felt about _Ladyblob,_ but he didn’t think their friendship was that developed yet and he didn’t want to risk offending her in any way.

“W-what about me?”

Their eyes met and he noticed how tightly her left hand was gripped onto the strap of her bag. Her knuckles were white.

He sighed internally, deciding to give her a small reassuring smile to try to comfort her in some way. His feet were beginning to feel like they were anchored by cement.

“How do you feel about Ladybug?”

Her body tensed evidently.

_Did I say something wrong?_

“I...um…she’s pretty cool. I think she and Chat Noir really help out Paris. S-so I am very grateful for the both of them.”

She laughed awkwardly.

His smile faded and he couldn’t tear his eyes off of her. He didn’t even mention his alter ego, yet the girl found the need to include him in her response. He didn’t understand her in that aspect.

Cars started to honk and they both looked up to see that a few were waiting for them to pass. He gave them an apologetic wave and they continued on their journey to the café that seemed to be much farther away than he expected.

They were quiet again, and he lost sight of Nino and Alya, the teens nowhere in sight. However, he saw that Marinette was looking at her phone and thought that the girl had probably texted her.

“Um, Nino and Alya are already there,” She said, her eyes still on her screen. “Alya, said they took a shortcut but they’re saving us a table.”

“You know the way?” He asked.

She finally shoved her phone back in her pocket and met his eyes again.

“Y-yeah, of course! W-we’re almost there.”

“Cool.”

“Mhmm.”

As he watched people around them enter buildings, walk, laugh, talk, he began to think more about Marinette’s words and actions from the previous weeks. The way she defended Chat Noir that first time in homeroom. The way she seemed to _always_ defend him every week just because a fanfiction didn’t write him well enough. Adrien just wasn’t sure why the girl was so defensive when it came to his alter ego. He’d only seen her a few times in the suit and she never really seemed struck by him in any way. When dealing with the Evillustrator, she did look excited to work with him, but after a while of thinking, he felt that maybe she was more excited to just be working with a superhero in general, whether it was Chat Noir or not.

Adrien thought about it some more, his eyes looking straight ahead, his hands still in his pockets. And then something hit him, and his face went completely red. He never felt more sober in his life.

His eyes widened, and a small gasp almost left his mouth until he became self-aware.

_She doesn’t._

He glanced down at her again and quickly looked away once she noticed his gaze.

_But maybe she does._

“Adrien, is everything alright?”

He nodded, maybe _too_ quickly.

“Okay, um good.”

_Say something dammit!_

“So, do you have a crush on Chat Noir?”

_Are you kidding me?! REALLY?!_

He heard a small snicker and he knew it didn’t come from either him or his friend.

Plagg was totally going to give him shit for his question later.

“I m-mean if you don’t mind me asking of course!”

_Real smooth Agreste._

When he finally looked back at Marinette he saw an expression on her that’d he never seen before. Her eyebrows were furrowed but her eyes were wide in shock, her mouth hung open with no words coming out other than some odd sound.

“I-What?” She finally spoke.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck nervously, regretting ever opening his mouth in the first place. He shouldn’t have asked. He should’ve just gone to Nino’s house, ate one of his mom’s amazing omelets, and slept until he felt less dead inside.

His face warmed up even more and he could feel his palms beginning to sweat.

_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid._

He silently blamed his exhaustion for his mindless rambling. However, he continued anyway.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you or anything! I just- you um seem to say a lot of nice things about him. Like that one time in class.”

“Oh, you heard that.”

He was sure everybody heard that.

Her cheeks were red again, but this time he felt that it wasn’t for the same reasons as before.

“I-I don’t have a crush on him. But…I don’t know,” She shrugged and her features softened. “Alya was talking about some fanfiction with him and Ladybug and I just don’t like it when people don’t receive the recognition they deserve, you know? It’s not right.”

He smiled fondly at her words, he couldn’t help it. Adrien didn’t know her as well as he would like, but he knew that her response was just so _her._ He muttered an “Of course.” And felt warmth spread throughout his chest in a calming way. He really wanted to sleep, but he was also glad that he didn’t pass up the opportunity to eat with her.

* * *

 

Alya and Nino both apologized for walking ahead of them when they finally arrived, though their words didn’t seem so genuine. He told them it was okay, however, since he felt that Nino probably wanted alone time with the other girl. And also he did enjoy Marinette’s company so it wasn't a big deal to him anyway. He could sense that the boy had a crush on her even though he still refused to admit it. Adrien just winked at his friend and Nino gave him a confused look before winking back and chuckling.

They were seated in a small circular table near the corner of the room. There was a nice window beside them that had sunlight dawn through, reflecting off the white painted coffee mugs and making the liquid inside them look lighter than what they actually were.

Adrien sat next to Nino and the two girls sat right across, Marinette directly in front of him. Since the two boys had never gone to the café, they allowed the two girls to order for them, Nino also making sure that they didn’t order Adrien extra coffee no matter how much he begged.

“It isn’t happening, dude.”

Adrien rolled his eyes.

“Whatever, there’s a Starbucks on the way back to my house. I’ll just get my fix there.”

“Bro _.”_

“ _Bro_.”

Nino sighed.

“Sleep instead. I heard it’s much better than coffee _and_ it’s free. It’s a win-win.”

“You’re doing the no chill thing again, Nino.”

“Says the guy that drinks coffee like it’s water.”

Adrien snorted.

“You found out _today_ that I drink coffee. You don’t know how often I drink it.”

“You wanted them to order you two cups of coffee with two shots of espresso in each, dude. That’s not normal.”

The two girls returned with delicious looking sandwiches for all of them and they all began to eat, talking about different things that made the air seem lighter and their experience much more memorable. Alya was the one that started the conversation, talking about school. And from there on new topics began to arise, the four teens socializing in a calm and friendly manner for several minutes. Adrien enjoyed the group’s company, even finding himself getting lost in the interaction so much so that he didn’t even hear Alya’s sudden comment.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that.”

Marinette was scowling at her friend with her cheeks flushed as always, and was obviously trying to avoid eye contact with the blond.

“ _Alya_!” She said.

Her friend ignored her and proceeded to look at Adrien with a devilish smirk playing on her lips.

“I said that Marinette told me you thought she had a crush on Chat Noir. And I just wanted to know how you feel about that.”

The whole table seemed to be awaiting his answer, even Marinette, though she refused to look at him for some reason. He was never fond of being put on the spot like that and was mentally praying that Nino would interject and say something. Instead, his friend was too busy smiling, and Adrien knew that he too wanted to hear his response.

How did he feel when he thought Marinette had a crush on him? Well now that he was fueled with caffeine he was more aware of his thoughts and feelings. All he could really think at the moment was that he was _flattered_. A strong and kind girl like Marinette liking him would’ve been such a high compliment to receive, even though he wouldn’t be able to reciprocate her feelings. However, he couldn’t say that aloud. So, he just blushed and shrugged instead.

“It’s interesting, I suppose.”

Marinette continued staring at her lap.

Alya cocked in eyebrow.

“Oh, in what way?”

Adrien turned to Nino and rose his eyebrows in some sort of desperate plea, but the boy’s smile just widened and he motioned Adrien to continue.

_Why is he like this?!_

“Um… I don’t know. I’ve heard you two talk about that fanfiction or whatever-“

“The Empty Streets of Paris?”

Adrien smiled at the sound of the title of his own story.

“Yeah, and I just thought she liked him since she seemed to criticize it so much.”

_Shit_.

_Did that sound harsh?_

He didn’t mean it to.

“And not that that’s a bad thing or anything!”

_First the gum incident and now this. She’s going to hate me._

“Well, that _is_ true, Mari. I guess I see where he was coming from.” Alya adds, Marinette finally looking up to look at her best friend.

“Hey! I don’t criticize it _all_ the time.”

Alya snorted.

“That’s all that comes out of your mouth when we talk about it.”

“I’m sorry if I have an opinion.” She whispers to herself, her bottom lip out in a pout.

They were talking about his story again.

They were talking about it with him _there_ , with them _knowing_ he was listening.

He needed more coffee.

“I’m not saying that’s a bad thing M. I’m just saying that I get why Adrien over here came to that conclusion. You do only talk about it when it has something to do with Chat Noir.”

He was red again – he knew he was. He lifted up his mug and pretended to be drinking out of it, even though there was nothing left inside. Nino seemed to notice this since he finally spoke up.

“Alya, can you not bring Adrien into this fan crap.”

Alya glared at Nino.

“It isn’t crap. And Adrien doesn’t seem to have a problem with the topic. Isn’t that right, Adrien?!”

The whole table was staring at him once again, and the teen realized that the mug was still against his lips so he finally placed it down.

What should he say? A part of him wanted to continue talking about his story since he was so dependent on feedback, but another part of him was yelling that he would be taking things too far. He gulped instead.

“I don’t really mind. I’m actually a bit curious.”

Alya leaned over the table and gave Nino a smile before muttering an “I told you.” before sitting back down correctly. Nino groaned and Marinette had a hand placed over her face.

_Maybe I shouldn’t have said that._

The table went silent for a while, Nino and Alya having a heated staring contest with one another while Marinette and Adrien were both finding something to do to distract themselves from the awkward tension that suddenly arose.

Adrien cleared his throat.

“So, I keep hearing that the story’s good?”

He was weak, really.

Alya finally turned to him and smiled widely.

“Why, yes it is!”

She continued to explain to him his own plot for a few minutes, a satisfied grin on Adrien’s face when she complimented his technique and characterization. He knew that Plagg was hearing all of this and that the kwami was probably going to tell him something on the lines of: “Don’t let this get to your head,” later on, but he didn’t care. He was going to let it a little.

“Ah, I guess it does sound kind of interesting.”

“Dude, it’s a story about Ladybug and Chat Noir. We get to see the real deal almost every week. I don’t see what’s so _interesting_ about it.” Nino commented, his body slumped more into his chair than before with his arms crossed over his chest.

Alya huffed.

“Nino, just because you don’t get something doesn’t mean you need to bash it.”

“What, so Marinette can bash it, but I can’t?!”

“Oh my god.” Marinette breathed out.

“Yeah, because she does it with style and actually has logical reasons to back herself up.”

“Mine are logical!”

“Yeah, whatever,” she looks at Adrien again. “So back to what we were saying, I can send you the link if you want. It really is good.”

Adrien’s small smile vanished and he rubbed his right thigh nervously before looking over at Marinette and chuckling stiffly. She was finally looking at him again, and Adrien couldn’t help but wonder what her expression would be after a chapter of his story. Would those blue eyes light up as his did when he first discovered fanfiction. Would she finally accept his portrayal of Chat Noir? He wasn’t sure why she was so driven to avoid his story so bad, but he began to think that maybe his answer could change her mind in some way.

“Sure,” He was still looking at the girl in front of him for some reason, refusing to even acknowledge Nino’s groan. “I’ll give it a try.”

Marinette’s eyes widened and he so badly wanted to know what she was thinking right at that moment.

* * *

 

                                                 

**Chapter  8 of “The Empty Streets of Paris”**

**\--by** _**FelineGood16** _ **** **on FanWorkz.net**

 

 

He still cannot fathom what is happening. Ladybug is carrying him, his pale arms wrapped securely around her neck as she runs through a back alley to get him to safety. The akuma had almost gotten him a few minutes ago. The villain’s sharp nails had dragged across his cheek slowly, and he felt it begin to turn him into stone before he was rescued. Ladybug needed Chat Noir and it was killing him that he hadn’t transformed on time. He had thought that was the end. The end of his life, the end of their partnership, the end of Paris. But there his knight was, saving him yet again. And she’s still carrying him, unaware of who the man in her arms truly is. He resists the urge to rest his head on her chest. He wonders if her heart is beating as quickly as his is now.

He stares up at her and marvels in her beauty. Her pigtails are coming undone, and a few strands of her raven black hair are falling over her eyes, but she’s still so beautiful and Felix is still so undoubtedly in love with her.

She rests him on the ground, gently, once she finds a far enough place. He drags his fingers across her shoulder as his hands release from their hold selfishly. He doesn’t want to let go, but he knows he must.

“Are you alright?” She asks, her voice filled with that familiar tone of concern that never fails to make his heart ache.

“Y-yeah. Thank you so much for saving me.”

Still resting where she set him down, his sweaty palms slide against the rough bricks as he looks up at her.

 “No problem.”

Her eyebrows suddenly knit together once she notices something on him. She bends down to his level and his cheeks feel like they are scorched by a flame.

“Damn, she got you.” She says, her hand going to his face. He silently curses the akuma, angry that because of them he can’t feel her touch properly. His cheek is still made of stone.

“I’ll be fine.” He mutters.

She looks intently at him as though he’s a fragile doll and he’s never felt more vulnerable in his life. She’s noticing him. She’s _finally_ noticing him.

 

* * *

“A little slow tonight, huh kitty?” His partner asked him once they landed on top of a building. It was almost eleven at night, Adrien still hadn’t eaten since lunch, his eyes were stinging almost painfully, and he wasn’t sure if he could patrol much longer. His knees felt like jelly and it was getting harder and harder for him to latch onto his staff when he landed.

“Slow?” He forced a chuckle and puffed out his chest in an exaggerated manner. “I don’t know the meaning of the word.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes as she walked closer to him, a small smile concealing her concern.

“You also don’t seem to know the meaning of the word sleep. Have you been getting some, Chat? You’ve seemed a bit…off lately.”

He looked down at her worried expression and knew that what she said was a clear understatement. Last patrol he had lost his balance more times than he could count and tonight Ladybug had to wait for him to catch up a few times since she was moving too fast. He knew it was because of his exhaustion, but he didn’t want to admit it. He didn’t want his lady to think he was having any troubles whatsoever. He was supposed to be her useful partner, and what use would he be if he’d let her patrol on her own while he stayed home to sleep.

“Aww, is a certain bug worried about me?” He decided to tease instead. He was good at teasing and making jokes. Everything was less serious and he had more control of the conversation. However, sometimes Ladybug didn’t accept that.

Her smile faded and she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Don’t try changing the subject. Have you been sleeping enough? I don’t mind handling the next patrol on my o-“

“Yes, I have. And there’s no need. I’ll be there.”

He was no longer smiling either, all the amusement gone from the air. He wondered if the light illuminating around them was as blurry to her as it was to him. He didn’t say anything, however. He knew it wasn’t.

“Chat-“

“I’m going to be there.”

She sighed and placed her hand on his right shoulder gently. He knew he was going to feel her touch even after she lowered her hand. It was burning him.

“Just, try to get some sleep. Alright? I don’t want you to hurt yourself because of your own stubbornness.”

“Hey! I am not st-“

“Chat,” He stopped as soon as his name came out of her mouth again. Her voice was soft like cotton and it startled him. “Please?”

How could he say no to that?

He sighed, defeated.

“Okay, my lady.”

She smiled and lowered her hand before stepping back.

“It’s getting pretty late, so I think we’re done with patrol for today. What do you think?”

He nodded and felt himself yawn, his mind going dizzy a bit.

She gave him one last smile before she said goodnight and swung away into the night.

_She was worried about me._

He smiled lovingly at the thought. He knew he was going to have to write down his feelings as soon as he got home, no matter how disgusting Plagg thought they were.

He began his journey home, jumping from building to building, trying to approximate how many blocks away he was ~~[~~ He figured about seven, but as his sight began to blur more and more, he wasn’t so sure anymore. His eyes were begging to close and his thoughts kept racing in his head in a way he couldn’t control.

_What’s happening?_

He yawned again, thinking his weird feeling had something to do with his empty stomach. But then in the middle of a leap, he realized that he forgot to use his baton to give himself more momentum and ended up falling, his eyes closing abruptly as he felt his whole body give out in midair.

His wavering consciousness was waiting for the strong impact from the ground that he expected was soon to come. But it never came, instead his mind went black and he felt like he was flying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I know this story seems like it's going a bit slow but next chapter is when the real shits gunna start happening I swear! Can't wait! Thanks for reading! Please comment and kudos if you enjoyed it :) I love hearing from you guys


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> OverProtectiveFriendMarinette™

Adrien wasn’t sure how long he’d been passed out. He’d never fainted before in his life. Was he okay? Did he hurt himself? He wasn’t sure if anyone even noticed him falling from that building. He half-expected to wake up on a cold rocky surface with a few injuries – minor or severe he didn’t know yet. However, his fingers began to move, trying to grab onto to _something_ , but instead of dragging along cement or brick, they dug into something soft and plush.

_What?_

He continued to touch, realizing that something resembling a cushion was under his head as well.

_Am I resting on clouds?_

_Am I dead?_

His fingers dug into the mysterious surface once again.

_Oh my god, I’m dead and I’m lying on clouds!_

“I think he’s waking up.”

His eyes began to slowly open at the sound of a familiar voice, his head still feeling a bit dizzy, but better nonetheless. He heard something scoot closer to him. The sound resembling that of a moving chair. He wanted so desperately to know where he was and what was even happening, but he knew that he had to actually open his eyes _completely_ in order to find out.

He expected to see a lot of things when he woke up: angels, doves, harps, maybe even a pile of garbage if, in fact, he didn’t actually die and just fell onto some pillows in a dumpster.

What he didn’t expect, however, was the sight of his classmate staring at him intensely with her face only a few inches away from his own. Her eyes were blue, shimmering, and observing him like he was a lab rat in a science experiment.

Adrien, still in costume, of course did the first thing that came to his mind and screamed loudly – his body practically jumped in place. Marinette slammed her hands over his mouth quickly in response and he felt how warm they were.

“Shut up,” she whispered nervously, Adrien mumbling words of panic under her clasped hands. “You’re going to wake my parents!”

“Whyur amiop Iyui heuire?! Whujik amiun Iyug?!” His legs were still moving like flying noodles and he realized that his arms were a bit sore.

“Lower your voice! I’ll answer all your questions if you just calm down!”

Her head was turned to the left, her attention on some closed entrance on the wooden floor nearby. The blond knew that his classmate was a good person. He always thought of her as his shy and gentle – yet confident – friend who was too sweet for her own good. Yet there she was next to him in her swivel chair, using her unexpected strength to keep him pinned down and quiet. And, well, he didn’t know what to think anymore.

He finally relaxed his legs defeatedly and rose his eyebrows in question.

“Canijs youuih letjh gookj nowisjn?”

“Do you promise to keep your voice down?”

He nodded quickly and the girl’s eyes narrowed briefly at him.

“Iiu promiselujs!”

“That doesn’t sound any quieter, but fine.”

She obliged and released her hands, the boy gasped and sat himself up quickly before he just stared at his legs, still in disbelief. Marinette sat calmly in her chair, arms crossed over her chest, her sight never leaving Chat.

“Are you fine now?” She asked after a few seconds of silence. She appeared completely unfazed by the whole situation, which only made the boy even more riled up.

“Am I _fine_ now?! You just-“

“What did I say about keeping your voice down?”

He took a deep breath before he crossed his legs over one another and turned to face her. He knew he had to calm himself down. If not, he wouldn’t get the answers he was looking for and would possibly get Marinette even more annoyed than she already was. He really didn’t want her to pin him down like that again. He could still feel the heat from her palms on his lips.

“You _cat-_ napped me and still won’t tell me _why_ and _how_ I got here.”

She rolled her eyes at his pun and rubbed her face up and down with her hand in an exaggerated manner before scooting herself closer to him, the front of her calves touching the side of her chaise lounge. She was wearing bright pink pajama shorts and he could see her knees. She had freckles scattered on them like small constellations.

“I didn’t _kid_ nap you. You fainted. I was in the area. Ladybug caught you and took you back to my place, and now we’re here.”

Her response sounded rehearsed, maybe _too_ rehearsed, but Adrien of course didn’t focus on that. His cheeks flushed immediately at the sound of his beloved’s name instead.

“Wait, L-ladybug caught me? She saw me fai-“ He groaned loudly and hid his masked face behind his hands.

_Great! She probably thinks I’m a total lame-o now! Smooth move Agreste._

“Really, that’s what you focus on?”

He groaned again. He didn’t think anyone had seen him, much less _saved_ him. Even though he was grateful that his lady was there for him yet again, a part of him wished she hadn’t been there to witness the whole thing. He probably looked weak, fragile, and not partner-worthy in her eyes and he didn’t know how he was going to face her the next time they met. How was she going to look at him? With pity, with frustration, with disappointment? He wasn’t sure and he wasn’t excited to find out.

Marinette sighed.

“You shouldn’t be sitting like that. You should lay down and rest for a while.”

Adrien peeped through the spaces between his long fingers and stared at the girl who looked to be concealing a certain emotion he couldn’t yet decipher.

“Why?”

“You fainted. If you don’t rest for a few minutes it could happen again.”

“But I feel fine.”

“ _Chat_.”

The boy wanted to say no, resist more since he didn’t want to be treated like some broken doll. But he saw the bags under her eyes, noticed the many hair strands coming out from her loose pigtails, and instead decided to oblige, feeling a pang of guilt rise up in his throat.

“Okay.”

He laid back down slowly, releasing a small breath of relief once his head hit the cushion again. He stared up and noticed the red umbrella over his head. It was an interesting choice of décor and if Chat wasn’t still so confused and embarrassed he would’ve asked the girl about it. However, he remained silent instead not really sure which of his swarming questions he should ask first. But, he didn’t have time to choose one because Marinette beat him to the punch. 

“Do you feel any pain?”

He looked over at the girl and cocked an eyebrow, the side of his mask going up along with it.

“Like, do you have a headache, a bruise, a scratch, anything? Did Ladybug hurt you in anyway when she caught you?”

“Of course, not,” He stated defensively. “I feel fine. Just a bit sore is all.”

He was guessing it had to with his exhaustion in some way, but he didn’t question that any further.

Marinette nodded, and rubbed her left thigh, not really knowing what else to do with her hand.

“Why did she bring me _here_ specifically?” he finally asked, his fingers intertwined over his chest.

She shrugged.

“Like I said before: I was in the area. She told me that she didn’t know where you lived and I offered to take you in until you woke up and felt better.” The girl answered nonchalantly. Chat just looked at her intently, his chest beginning to feel as warm as his lips.

“You offered?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“You were passed out, she was desperate, and there was nowhere else you could go. Why would I say no, Chat?”

There it was again. She called him _Chat_ , and it sounded so familiar coming from her lips – like it belonged there. The boy wasn’t sure why she continued to call him that since they weren’t necessarily friendly when he was his alter ego, but he didn’t say anything about it. Marinette was a friendly person in general, so, after a bit of thinking, he realized that it wasn’t much of a surprise.

Even after everything he went through in the past few minutes, he still wanted to know more about her. She was much more confident with him as Chat Noir, that’s for sure, and he craved to know why.

“Ladybug was _desperate_?”

Marinette groaned loudly and Chat simply shrugged and smiled before chuckling tiredly.

“You’re unbelievable, really.”

“Why, first you take me to your room and now you’re showering me with compliments? How you spoil me, princess.”

“ _Ughhh_.”

They spoke for a while longer and Chat decided to ask a few more questions that were on his mind. The blond asked her how long he was out, what Ladybug said to her when she held him in her arms, if he was drooling (since he tended to do that when he was asleep), and other less-pressing questions, but honestly he just wanted to talk to her more.

“About two to three minutes, she didn’t say much, and why would you be drooling? _Should_ you have been drooling?”

She asked her own questions, most of them on the topic of why he wasn’t getting enough sleep. Which frankly, those weren’t his favorite to answer. He mostly replied with shrugs, his bell jingling a few times along with the action. After a few more minutes, his classmate finally gave up and got up from her seat. He stared at the backs of her knees as she walked off, wondering if she had any freckles there too. He had never really noticed them before since that was one of the first times he actually got to look at her up close without her shaking or moving away. She had them on her cheeks, some on her fingers, and three or four near her collarbones. He wasn’t sure about the number exactly since he had merely glanced there for a brief second and didn’t give himself time to figure it out.

_I wonder if Ladybug has any freckles._

_Maybe I should add that in my fic._

“Stay there and don’t fall asleep.” She said before she went through the small entrance on her floor that she was previously so nervous about. She promised to come back up with water and food, and even though he said that he was fine– if only because he felt that he was overstaying his welcome anyway – his stomach grumbled loudly and she wouldn’t let him try to talk her out of it.

She would only take a few minutes to come back up, meanwhile Chat had distracted himself by staring at the umbrella that hovered over him and a piece of thread that he had noticed popping out from the cushion under his left palm. He twirled it around his fingers a few times and hummed some song he made up on the spot. Suddenly, He thought about the last time he was here as Adrien. They had been seated over by her computer practicing for the gaming tournament and honestly, he had just been so impressed by her that whole day. Not only had her sudden confidence at the library shocked him, but her skills in general were outstanding. He couldn’t stop telling Plagg about her once he got home; of course, _after_ he gushed about how kickass his lady was when she controlled that bot.

He had had fun that day and felt saddened that they hadn’t hung out like that since. He still had her bracelet that she gave him and wasn’t sure whether he even wanted to give it back or not. She hadn’t asked for it yet, so he assumed that she had probably given it to him to keep. Besides, he liked the colors of the beads, he thought they were cool.

He felt himself smile at the thought.

 That bracelet was nice.

Damn… Marinette was just _nice_ and being with her in her room that night reminded him again of why he wanted her to enjoy his story so badly.

_If Marinette likes it then it’s good enough._

_It’s more than enough._

The girl returned with a glass of water and a small plate of two croissants that brought a strong scent of melted butter along with them. The soft smile on her face lit the dimmed room. He thanked her immediately before he chugged down the drink. He didn’t realize how thirsty and hungry he was. He had devoured the two pastries in what seemed like less than a minute, suddenly feeling rather embarrassed.

There he was, in her home eating like a starving animal without a care after she had been so courteous to him. He must’ve looked completely rude and ill-mannered. His father would’ve had his head if he found out he pulled a stunt like that in someone’s home.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I guess I was sort of hungry after all.”

Marinette just smiled at him with a confused yet amused expression. She sat back down in her seat and scooted closer to him once more.

“It’s fine, really. I don’t mind. Just try not to get crumbs anywhere.”

He apologized again and the girl wouldn’t stop looking at him in an odd way. They both decided to change the subject and after some small talk, Marinette yawned. Adrien suddenly remembered that it was late and that school was a thing that existed.

“I should get going.”

She looked over at her window beside her computer, staring at the blanket of black night that hid the world from them. Her eyes then met his and he stared at her fidgeting hands. She was still concerned.

“You can stay a while longer if you want. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

Chat smiled fondly at that.

“Princess, this cat’s stronger than he looks. I _paw_ -romise you.”

“Yeah, of course.” She scoffed and he chuckled before getting himself off of the chaise lounge he had been lazily resting on for almost an hour. His legs felt like jelly.

“But really, it’s getting late and I don’t want to keep you up.”

“I’ll be fine.”

She got up too, however, and they stood in front of each other, Chat still smiling at her as she continued to frown up at him. She was shorter than him, of course, but her stance was still so confident. She looked like a small soldier ready to salute, her back straight and her chin held up high. Adrien was beginning to realize how expressive his friend was and it made him happy that he now knew that.

“Me too.”

She sighed in defeat and Adrien began to head towards the circular window near the chaise lounge. He tried to approximate the length he was going to have to make his staff in order to land correctly. He was praying that his hands wouldn’t slip like they almost did during patrol when he landed.

He was a bit nervous. His eyes were tired and a loud yawn escaped him that made his body tense. He wasn’t sure if he could pull off the jump anymore, but he knew that he really had no other choice. It’s not like he could just walk out the front door.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

He immediately stopped in place and turned to face her, his baton in his hand and his grip tiredly loose.

“Um, home?”

“Not through there,” Marinette walked up to him, frowning with her arms crossed. “You _fainted_.”

“And?”

“ _And_ I’m not going to let you hurt yourself! Are you serious?”

“Well, how do you suggest I get out of here then?”

She cocked her head to the side and gave him a look of disbelief.

“Um, through the front door?!”

“What?”

She sighed from frustration and grabbed his left wrist, his eyes widening slightly at the sudden contact. She was leading him to the floor entrance. She actually _had_ expected him to leave through the front door.

“Wait, wait, wait,” He said as he planted his feet firmly on the ground, stopping them both from walking further. “Won’t your parents see me?”

“It’s twelve-thirty in the morning, they’re asleep. When I got you the food, I closed their door just in case and even took down the entrance bell so they wouldn’t hear us.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Her hand was still holding his wrist and he could feel that same sensation of warmth again that he felt on his lips after she had slammed her hands on his mouth earlier. He wasn’t really sure what to say. He was exhausted and very thankful for everything she’d done for him, but he felt like a _thank you_ wouldn’t be enough. He wanted to say more to the girl that thought of everything when it came to him.

“I’m sorry,” Her voice rang through his ears and he realized that he still hadn’t said anything to her. She had looked so confident before, so driven to get him out of there safely. Now, though, her expression was softer and her hand wasn’t holding onto his wrist anymore. “I do this thing sometimes where I kind of get over-protective of my friends and make them do things without asking them first. Is it okay with you to leave through the entrance? Or are you not comfortable with that because of your whole identity thing and all?”

She was rambling and he couldn’t believe that she just called him her friend.

_Holy shit._

“Friends. Yeah, you do that for your friends and stuff,” He coughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s fine, yeah. Sorry, I just spaced out a bit. But I don’t mind that over-protective friend thing. Yeah.”

_WHAT AM I SAYING?_

_THIS IS WHY SHE CAN’T LOOK ME IN THE EYE AT SCHOOL._

She smiled and looked at him amused again before nodding and whispering “Okay, good.”

They walked down the steps silently, Chat following right behind the other teen as quietly as he could, his tail in his hands and his baton back in place on his back.

They made it all the way to the door successfully without anyone seeing. The bakery was dark and Marinette was using her phone flashlight to guide them to the front.

“Be careful getting home.” She finally spoke, her voice even lower than before. The bright flash was held under her chin so he could see her expression and he stared at the shadow of her long eyelashes on top of her darkened eyes.

“Yeah, thank you again. I appreciate this.”

He really did.

“Of course! And I would say _anytime_ , but I don’t want you back here because you passed out again. Seriously, get some sleep.”

He smiled at that and bowed, his head tilting up to look up at her.

“Whatever my princess desires.”

“You can hardly see it now, but I’m rolling my eyes.”

He chuckled and smiled when she put the light on him again.

“Goodnight, Marinette.”

“Goodnight, Chat Noir.”

He couldn’t see her smile, but he could hear it in her voice. The blond walked to the door and, before he went out completely, he turned back one last time to look at her again.

“Marinette?”

“Yeah?”

His smile was gone and he swallowed nervously.

“Was Ladybug disappointed?”

The flash was still on him and he couldn’t see the girl’s reaction. He felt like he was talking to a ghost.

“Disappointed?”

“Yeah, in me…tonight? When I fainted, that is.”

There was silence for a while and Adrien was beginning to feel like the air was suffocating him.

“Of course not. She was….she was worried though.”

“Worried?”

“Yeah. Very.”

“Ah.”

“Now go get some sleep, Chat. She’d want that.”

His grip on the door was looser than it had been moments ago and he realized that he had been holding in his breath. Marinette turned the light on herself again to reveal her smile and Chat couldn’t help but smile back.

_For her._

_For them._

_Damn, I’m tired._

“Okay.”

                                                                         

* * *

 

After de-transforming and feeding Plagg his much-deserved camembert, Adrien finally went to sleep, his head a bit warm and his computer untouched and off.

Since school was Adrien’s responsibility entirely, his father always expected him to rely on himself when it came to waking up. He had to set his own alarm and make sure he was dressed and ready on time in the mornings. However, some days he found himself feeling exhausted with all the patrols, akuma fights, homework, practices, and modeling, so he slept through his alarms unknowingly. Those were the days where Nathalie would be the amazing woman that she was and assist him by notifying him in a stern and loud voice that he was going to be late. She wasn’t supposed to do that. Adrien knew that she wasn’t supposed to do a lot of things but she did them anyway if she felt that it would benefit him – though she would never admit it. He really appreciated her in that aspect.

That morning was one of those occasions. He was still sleeping, Plagg hidden and wrapped like a burrito in a small blanket he had gotten for him right beside him. The woman’s voice blared through the room.

“Adrien, if you do not wake up now, you’ll be late to school again.”

That was usually the line that got the blond up and out of his bed within a few seconds, however, that morning he didn’t budge. His eyes were still closed and his mouth was open, small snores released occasionally.

Nathalie’s eyebrows furrowed at that and she came closer to his bed, her arms still behind her and her back straightened in a conservative manner.

“Adrien, you will be late.”

Nothing.

“Adrien, are you ignoring me?”

After a few more seconds of staring at the sleeping teen, Nathalie noticed that his cheeks were a flushed red that didn’t look natural on him. She finally decided to walk up to the boy completely, bending down to rest her palm on his forehead. He was warm, too warm.

She sighed and immediately contacted his father.

He stayed home for three days after they found out that he had gotten a small cold, the doctor telling him to get some rest and drink lots of fluids. He obliged and tried to catch up on as much sleep as he could. He would nap during the day, go to sleep early at night, and prayed that Hawkmoth was too busy in his civilian life to plan anything treacherous. His throat was sore, his nose was stuffy, and he missed seeing his friends at school. Other than that, however, he felt sort of relieved that he got a small break. He knew he needed one. When he was awake, he completed the homework assignments that Nino kindly left in his mailbox, played video-games, caught up on a few shows that he’d been missing, and was trying his best to avoid his computer.

He found freedom in his writing and loved the jolt of excitement it gave him whenever his fingers touched the keyboard, but he knew that his hobby was beginning to turn into an obsession, and that too much of a good thing wasn’t a good thing. So, for the first two days, he avoided it completely. He wanted to make his Lady proud that he was catching up on his sleep. He wanted to make Marinette proud too.

He had thought about the two girls a lot in those few days of solitude. He thought about Ladybug’s worry, her strength, her courage, how she must’ve looked when she caught him in the air. Adrien hoped Marinette didn’t lie to him when she‘d said that the heroine wasn’t disappointed.

He didn’t think Marinette was the kind of person to say things she didn’t mean anyway.

And then his thoughts would switch to his classmate. He thought about that night a few days ago. She was so different around him when he was in costume. Her confidence radiated off of her and he couldn’t stop staring. He thought about her freckles, her kind words, her concern, her red umbrella that she had on that chaise lounge. He wondered if she still had the one he gave her that day in the rain a few months back.

She probably didn’t.

The inspiration was blooming in his chest hour by hour and on that third day as soon as he woke up, he walked over to his computer and finally sat down. Plagg rested on his mouse immediately and looked up at him with concerned eyes.

“Maybe you should worry about this another day, kid.”

Adrien opened his palms and rested them on his lap, signaling the kwami to rest on them. Plagg didn’t move, however. The teen sighed.

“Don’t worry Plagg. I got my sleep and I’m going to continue getting my sleep. But I still want to write. That’s why I’m doing this in the morning. I promise you that I won’t stay up anymore unless it’s for hero purposes.”

Plagg didn’t look convinced.

“I promise.” He stared down at his friend with a sincere expression and smiled softly at him. “I mean, I wouldn’t want you to get all worried about me again.”

Plagg finally floated up in front of the boy’s face with his small arms crossed over his chest.

“Please, _me_ worried? I just can’t have you all tired or I’ll starve again.”

“Hey! I fed you!”

“Yeah, barely! What happened to extra camembert Fridays?! I was robbed!”

Adrien snorted and patted his shoulder, the small god immediately rested there.

“You glutton,” He stroked the top of his friend’s head softly. Plagg’s eyes closed in comfort. “Now that I’ll be more organized I’ll bring back extra camembert Fridays _and_ movie night Wednesdays.”

“Will there be popcorn?”

“There will be popcorn.”

“Extra butter?”

“As much as you want, buddy.”

Adrien started typing calmly. Plagg eventually dozed off on his shoulder and the light wind coming from his opened window made the atmosphere feel more tranquil. The blond enjoyed himself, finding the day passed by quickly with his word count growing alongside the mountain of tissues he had next to his keyboard.

He napped after writing two-thousand words and spent the remaining hours in his bed, feeling more awake than he had in weeks.

                                                   

* * *

 

Nathalie didn’t have to wake him up the next day, the boy had gotten out of bed as soon as he heard the first ring of his alarm. He missed seeing his friends, and couldn’t wait to show Nino this new DJ he found in the deep parts of his recommended videos on youtube. He felt that the man had a similar sound to Nino’s and that his friend would love his tracks as much as he had. He also wanted to see Marinette again. He wondered if she had read a certain story while he was gone.

Plagg told him to stop talking about her and to just go to school already. So, he did and he had a smile on his face the whole time.

He was still sneezing and felt a bit of discomfort in his throat when he spoke, but other than that, he felt fine. It was Friday, he was going to have lunch with his best friend, he was going to see Marinette, he had patrol with his lady the next day, and he was pretty sure he was going to update later that night. He couldn’t be more elated.

That was until he heard his two classmates talking behind him later that morning. The teacher had gone to the bathroom momentarily, Nino was jotting down notes as he listened to the songs Adrien suggested, and Marinette and Alya were talking to each other.

At first they chatted about the designs that Marinette was working on. Apparently, the girl had artist’s block.

“You don’t get it, Alya. Usually I can just stroll through the park, look at _something_ and get inspiration. But recently I’ve just… I don’t know! I think I’ve lost my touch.”

“Girl, you’re an amazing designer and nothing can change that. Right now, you’re just on a block. You just need to find yourself a muse.”

“A muse?”

“Yeah! Something or someone that speaks to you, that inspires you!”

“You really think I can find one?”

“Of course!”

Adrien smiled softly at that. He loved it when friends supported each other, it always had been something that warmed his heart. Like the week before, when he saw Alix give Kim her lucky shoelace the day of his baseball game, Kim had tied it around his wrist like a bracelet with a look of pride on his face. Or when the lights briefly went out during a storm and he saw Rose hugging a trembling Mylene when they came back on. He loved seeing that kindness and bond between people, and those moments always made him even more thankful for his own friends and acquaintances.

He wished he and Marinette were closer. He would’ve told her about the countless times his own father had artist’s block. Even though the man was a famous designer, he was human and it was a perfectly normal thing to experience. Besides, he agreed with Alya. Marinette was very talented and he knew that she would find inspiration soon enough.

Alya started talking about the ladyblog soon after, the topic switching smoothly. She had changed the color of her blog skin and mentioned how a few people disapproved of it. Marinette told her to just keep it the way she wanted it, and Alya hummed in agreement. Nino began to nudge Adrien with his elbow, his right hand on his lowered headphone.

“Dude, this guy is killer.”

Adrien smiled.

“I knew you’d like him.”

“Like him? I _love_ this man. I’m going to marry him. It’s happening. You’ll be the best man at our wedding.”

The blond snorted at that, raising an eyebrow at his friend’s antics before he sneezed lightly.

“Marrying someone only for their talent, Nino? That’s so selfish of you.”

“Shit, you’re right. I could never do something like that to a literal music god.”

“And if you marry him, then who’d marry Alya?” Adrien whispered the last part so no one else would hear, a smirk playing on his lips. Nino blushed furiously, his eyes widening before he grabbed Adrien’s collar and pulled him closer to him. He then proceeded to look around cautiously, the other teen trying his hardest not to laugh.

“I don’t like Alya like that, alright,” He muttered, not meeting Adrien’s gaze as he continued to stare around the room. “So, lower your voice or people will talk.”

“What’s so bad about people thinking you like her, dude?”

“N-nothing! It’s just that she could hear and she’ll never let me live it down man and-“ He sighed, finally meeting Adrien’s gaze. His cheeks were still red. “She’ll fuck me up dude. That girl may be drop dead gorgeous but she’s scary.”

“You think she’s drop dead gorgeous?”

Nino blinked twice in response.

“Did I say that out loud?”

“Yes, you did.”

“Oh no.”

Adrien’s smile only widened, his teeth beginning to show and Nino blushed even more before releasing his friend and placing his headphones back over his ears.

“Nope, this isn’t happening. Not today. I’m going to listen to my future husband again, so wipe that smile off your pretty face and leave me alone.”

“Awwww, you really think I’m pretty?!”

“Why are you like this,” he glanced back at Adrien who was beginning to laugh and tried to suppress his own growing smile. “But yeah bro, you’re pretty and I fucking hate you.”

“ _Bro.”_

“Shut it.”

Nino began to listen to music again, marking up his notes once more with a small grin on his face, Adrien chuckled brightly in response. No one paid attention to their conversation, lucky enough, so Adrien sighed happily and began to play some fighting app on his phone. His teacher was taking a while and he hoped that she was okay.

“I’m not reading it and I don’t think I will.”

His head snapped up at the sound of Marinette’s voice.

“Almost half of the school is reading it. I think you should give it a chance. And I mean if _you know who_ is reading it, why not?!”

“It’s just not my thing, Alya. And besides, like I said before, I don’t like the way they write them.”

Adrien’s shoulders tensed and he felt his smile fade. They were talking about his story again, he knew it, he felt it.

“The author developed them more, especially Chat, but if you say so, I guess I won’t bother you about it anymore. You do you.”

Marinette groaned and Adrien stared back at his phone, their teacher returning soon enough with an apologetic smile on her face.

_She’s not going to read it Agreste, just forget it._

                                                            

* * *

 

It was seven in the evening and Adrien was pouting in his swivel chair, his fingers tapping against his mouse mindlessly as he stared at his opened document. Plagg was devouring his extra plate of camembert over on his couch while watching some game show. He had a thing for watching people humiliate themselves on live television.

He was writing the ending scene of his next chapter, his mind racing with thoughts that didn’t revolve around his story. He didn’t know what to write Ladybug’s reaction to the situation he created and it was absolutely killing him. All he could think about was the way his father had canceled dinner plans with him again through email and Marinette. A deadly combo.

“Ughhhh. Why is writing hard?!” He complained as he rubbed his face with his hands dramatically. He heard Plagg shush him from afar and groaned again.

_How would Ladybug react if Chat messed up in a fight?_

Adrien didn’t really want to think about it since that was one of his greatest fears, but he had to, and honestly, he wasn’t sure how the heroine _would_ react if it were to happen. He’d messed up in battles a few times already, that’s for sure, but it was never anything too disastrous like in his chapter. So, he didn’t have anything to write by.

_Why did I have to make this chapter so angsty?!_

He leaned back in his chair, his hands rested on his thighs as he stared at his lit screens in thought.

_This is what Marinette must’ve meant earlier today about the lack of inspiration._

Adrien wanted to give up for that night and join Plagg on the couch, maybe criticize him again for laughing at other people’s humiliation, but he knew that if he didn’t get that chapter done that night, he wasn’t going to look at the document for a while. The blond hated procrastinating almost as much as failing, and besides, he didn’t want to disappoint his readers. He had promised them a chapter earlier that day on his blog and he was never one to go back on his word.

So, he took in a deep breath and scooted his chair closer to his computers, placing his fingers on his keyboard slowly.

_Think. Think. Think._

_What would Ladybug do? What would Ladybug do?_

His lady was an absolute mystery to him. Even though he could write her quirks and mannerisms perfectly, he still didn’t know in depth how she was in more personal ways. It hurt him to admit that to himself, but he had to face the fact.

_I just gotta try to think like her. That can’t be too hard, right?_

It was, frustratingly and evidently so. To the point where two hair ties and a loud groan later, Plagg finally floated to him to see what all the commotion was about.

“What did you do to your hair?” his kwami asked as soon as he saw the boy, staring regrettably at the top parts of his blonde locks in messy pigtails that looked like they were tied by a small child.

“I’m trying to channel Ladybug.”

“You look like an idiot. Take those things off.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Plagg attempted to float to the top of his head, his small stubby arms trying to reach for the loose hair ties, but Adrien kept refusing and moving around, his hands over his hair protectively.

“These are helping me think!”

“You need a brain to do that. Now stay still!”

After a few more seconds of the ridiculous chase, Plagg finally got to him, grabbing the scrunchies and a few strands of Adrien’s hair too in the process.

“Um, OW!”

“Hey, next time don’t go running around like a lunatic and I won’t hurt you.”

“Give them back!”

“Why? What could you possibly gain from wearing these?!”

“I don’t know! Inspiration…ideas!”

“You see, the fact that pride and dignity weren’t on that list should tell you something.”

“Plaaagg!”

“Even though I know I’m going to regret asking, what’s this all _really_ about? You’re already a pretty weird human but this is a new low.”

Adrien sighed in defeat and told Plagg everything – from what happened that day at school with Marinette, to his father, to his lack of inspiration. He didn’t hold back and the kwami listened the whole time, little-by-little lowering himself to Adrien’s hands before he placed the hair ties in his palm gently.

Adrien smiled fondly at him before he slipped them around his wrist.

“Well, didn’t you feel terrible when you fainted a few days ago?”

Adrien cringed at the memory.

“Yeah, thanks for the reminder.”

“You’re welcome. And can you say that your weird book Chat is feeling the same as you did?”

Adrien’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he lifted Plagg higher up to his face.

“I suppose, yeah.”

“And that chick said that Ladybug wasn’t mad at you, right?”

“Yes, now where are you going with this exactly?”

Plagg rolled his eyes and flew up from the boy’s hands, floating right in front of his face so Adrien could really look at him.

“Writers write what they know. So, do as the Romans do and do just that.”

Adrien stared at him blankly a while longer, his hand going over to his mouth. He bit his knuckle lightly in thought, trying to comprehend what Plagg was trying to tell him.

 And then it hit him and his eyes widened in realization.

“Y-you think I should write what Marinette told me?!”

“Ah, he _can_ be taught!”

Adrien shook his head quickly, nervously.

“Isn’t that creepy? That was like a _moment_ we had there. I can’t just write it down for everyone to see. It’s too personal.”

“What’s so personal about it? You almost fell on your butt, Ladybug saved you, and that girl told you not to get so sad about it. Seemed like a simple thing to me.”

“But…but…”

The teen’s hand lowered to his thigh again, his fingers squeezing it tightly. He felt that he was already crossing a small line by writing LadyNoir fanfiction in the first place. But now, writing word-for-word dialogue and events that happened between him and his friends? That can’t be cool… It shouldn’t be. Should it?

“You’re doing that thing again where you know I’m right, but you’re overthinking things.”

“I’m not overthinking things, Plagg!”

“Ah, but you think I’m right.”

“What if she finds out, I mean-“

“Didn’t you say she’s not reading it?”

_Damn, he’s right._

Adrien’s cheeks flushed and he thought about Marinette’s words from that night again, his hand placed over his heart.

_If Ladybug truly was worried about me and not angry, then she would act the same in this situation too, right?_

God, the dialogue would be perfect, now that he thought about it. The tone would still be intact and it wouldn’t sound too rushed like the last chapter. It was killing him how well it would fit. Exactly like a puzzle piece.

“Why am I like this?” He finally announced simply before he turned his chair around and started writing.

“I don’t know, but give me more cheese.”

                                                                           

* * *

 

**Chapter 9 of “The Empty Streets of Paris”**

**\--by _FelineGood16_ on FanWorkz.net**

 

“She almost got me,” he states in a vulnerable tone, his hand gripping around his staff tightly like he’s afraid to lose it. “People got hurt because of me.”

She’s staring at him, intensely and observantly with a spark in her eyes that reminds him of lightning.

“ _Chat_.”

“Are you disappointed?”

She steps forward, walking away from the moonlight that was illuminating her to walk into the darkness alongside him. Her head tilts to the side in confusion and god, how can someone’s eyes still look so blue in the night?

“Disappointed?”

“Yeah, in me… tonight? With everything that happened.”

 _'You are, aren’t you?’_ He was about to say, the words burning his throat

Her expression immediately shifts into something he can’t decipher, her feet moving her closer to him in a quick pace. He’s about to walk backwards, away from his knight – since he feels that he said too much. That he _keeps_ saying too much. There always seems to be a pull between them forcing him closer to her even in times where he doesn’t want to, and he gives in to it.

“Of course not. I was… I was worried though.”

His eyes widen and she doesn’t look away. Blue meets green and green is meeting blue and he feels like any second now he’s going to explode from the anticipation of _something._

“Worried?” His voice cracks when he says it and he mentally curses himself.

“Yeah, very.”

Her hand goes to his face suddenly and her thumb rubs a small circle over his cheek. It was made of stone from the akuma only minutes ago and now it’s back to normal. Her finger glides over a bit of his mask, the part resting over his cheek bone, and he tenses nervously.  He doesn’t want to even imagine how red his face is.

“Ah.” He finally says, his breath hitching when she smiles at him.

Her earrings beep and a part of him wants to grab her hand away from his face so he can intertwine their fingers together. He doesn’t and lets her leave instead, like the coward he is.

“I should go, it’s getting late anyway.” She whispers.

“Yeah.”

“Get some sleep. You deserve it.”

He nods and she gives him her signature salute before she finally goes, leaving Chat Noir there with his thoughts and aching heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy early Valentines Day guys!! And if you go to me and my friend's tumblr: @fuckingchatnoir I added an animation from this chapter that I drew myself :')  
> Have a wonderful weekend! And kudos and comments will always be much appreciated! <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The "reveal" chapter. (This chap is unbeta'd btw so please excuse any grammar mistakes)

Ladybug had been acting strange. Adrien noticed it the previous Saturday - their first patrol since the whole fainting fiasco. He couldn’t exactly pinpoint exactly what was wrong with her since there seemed to be several things that were just _off,_ but he felt that it was something important _._

As soon as she met him at the Eiffel tower, their usual patrol starting point, he noticed the way her eyes were scanning him, and not in the pleasant kind of way. Her eyebrows were knitted together in an odd skepticism, her mask scrunched up along with it. Her baby-blues were focused on his face and the wind was blowing through her pigtails and added to her riled-up appearance.

“Hello, my lady.” He tried to sound as casual as he could, his hands clammy under his gloves.

Her eyes just squinted in response, her pout easing into a small frown.

“Is there something wrong?” He asked.

He felt his stomach twist unpleasantly and he was beginning to wish that the Eiffel Tower wasn’t as lit as it was right at that very moment. She was looking at him with so much tension in her expression, and he couldn’t hide in any way. The light was revealing his vulnerability to the girl and he just wanted to start patrol already.

He cursed Marinette in his head, seconds beginning to feel like minutes as the world began to sound too silent to his liking. He was too aware of his own breathing and it was agonizing.

_If Ladybug wasn’t disappointed in me then why does she look like she’s trying to see if I committed a murder? Damn you Marinette._

A light breeze swept in and the teen felt a few of his hair strands tickle his exposed cheeks.

_I don’t actually mean that though. Marinette is a wonderful friend who took care of me and who has wonderful qualities and wow, Ladybug’s still staring at me, okay. I’m fine. This is fine._

He cleared his throat and immediately forced a small smirk, attempting to appear as suave and unfazed as he could. He walked closer to her and leaned his body against one of the long bars that supported the beautiful monument, his arms crossed over his puffed-out chest.

“Reveling in my dashing good looks, Bugaboo?

He winked, and he wondered if it looked as forced as it felt.

The heroine merely cocked an eyebrow in response before she shook her head and rolled her eyes. She was thinking about something intensely, something that involved him and he hoped it had nothing to do with the other night.

“What did I tell you about calling me that?”

Her right fist was rested on her hip now and Chat began to feel more at ease. They were getting back to their usual routine with their teasing and banter. That’s what felt right anyway, that’s what brought him comfort.

“You told me not to call you that in dire situations. However,” He stood up properly and looked at their surroundings in an exaggerated manner - his eyes widened and his brows raised - before motioning the air with his hands. “the city is safe and neither of us seem to be in serious trouble.”

Chat only realized how close they were when he looked back down at her. He could practically see his own reflection in her eyes and noticed that she was wearing lip gloss. He wondered what flavor it was.

“You’re wrong about that, Chaton. Your shameless flirtations are putting my sanity at stake.”

The blond smiled genuinely at that, his mouth beginning to open to respond, however, being interrupted by the words of the girl instead.

“And not in the way you hope.”

“You’re too cruel to me.”

And at that they started their night, side-by-side one another as they jumped and swung over buildings and streets, the vehicles beneath them appearing smaller and smaller while the sky above them appeared endless. He always loved that about their patrols, how the earth for a while felt almost still. Without all the stress and pressure of an akuma, he was able to enjoy his time with the hero that no one else was able to have. Sure, her friends and family in her civilian life could be with the heroine in ways that he deeply desired and envied. However, when they were both suited up he had that personal time with her that no one truly understood – that time that belonged to solely _them._ Their dynamic was special and possibly even destined, and that made Adrien feel hopeful about so many things at once that it was both overwhelming and exhilarating at the same time to even think about.

He could catch up to the spotted hero that time, his energy full and his adrenaline pumping through his veins in a familiar manner that he so missed.  He did eventually notice, however, how the other teen would glance at him many times throughout the hour to make sure he was still next to her and not behind like before. At first, he didn’t really mind it since he knew that he would’ve done the same if roles were reversed. But then he realized that she was still unsure whether he was physically capable to even do patrol even after he practically _showed_ her that he was, and that began to frustrate him.

They cracked their usual jokes, Ladybug trying to keep their duty casual and fun, however Chat was more distant. His amused expressions weren’t genuine and he was only making puns to keep things familiar, to prove to his Lady that he was fine and back to normal. Even so, she wasn’t necessarily grasping that, her eyes still concerned and very observant, _too_ observant.

After a while they decided to take a ten-minute break on a building that had two windows still lit up near the top floors. They were both breathing a bit heavily, the two of them needing that short break so they wouldn’t overwork themselves. Ladybug sat down immediately, her legs spread out in front of her with her hands rested on the ground behind her back as her chest fell up and down along the rhythm with her breaths. Chat stretched his arms and placed his baton on his back before he joined her, his legs brought to his chest as he wrapped his arms around them comfortably. They stayed there in silence for a while, Ladybug sneaking a few glances at him before either one of them actually spoke. This was usually the time of their patrol where they just spoke to one another aimlessly, where it was more personal in the way that they weren’t with each other for a duty or battle, but just because they wanted to. Adrien always treasured that time, but at that moment he felt tense instead, his several questions beginning to burn his throat.  

“It’s pretty breezy tonight, huh?”

She spoke first and he didn’t look at her, humming in response instead.

“Maybe next time I could bring us hot chocolate again.” She said more to herself than anything. Chat loved her hot chocolate. She’d only brought it a few patrols, but he found himself already obsessed with it. She’d bring the decadent liquid in these pink metallic thermoses and found himself melting from utter comfort and joy when the flavor touched his lips. He felt like he was drinking a liquefied chocolate bar, the taste equally as rich.

“Sounds nice.” He replied, his voice monotone.

“Maybe croissants too.”

“Yeah.”

“And cookies.”

“Cool.”

“Okay, something’s wrong.”

“Awesome.”

“Chat!”

The blond flinched at her abrupt tone and quickly turned his head to the right to face her. His arms tightened around his knees as he noticed how she was sat more correctly, her body practically screaming out her seriousness from her straightened back to her scrunched up nose.

“Yes?”

“What’s wrong? You’ve been acting weird all night.”

Chat almost laughed at that, finding it incredible how the girl that was attempting to stare into his soul about an hour ago, was calling out _his_ odd behavior.

“I don’t understand what you mean, my Lady. I’ve been _purr-_ fectly normal.”

Her bottom lip stuck out in a pout and Chat almost forgot what he was even mad about in the first place.

“Chat, we’re partners. And partners tell each other what’s upsetting them. If not, then how will we be able to work well together? We can’t have any tension between us.”

“There is no tension.”

She sighed in response and didn’t say anything after that, the two of them staying seated a bit longer than ten minutes. He wasn’t sure what she wanted, her complexity becoming more and more confusing to him as the time passed. They were no longer looking at each other and Chat reminded himself that she was different than how he wrote her in his story. Ladybug was an actual person that was still a puzzle to him and he was still trying to find the missing pieces that seemed to be scattered all throughout Paris. The only way he could find them would be if she told him where they were and even though a part of him hoped that one day she would give in, his mind kept telling him to give up. However, Adrien was a boy that thought with his heart so he ignored what was rational and instead kept searching.

“I guess I _was_ a bit weird tonight.” He finally spoke, his eyes staring at his knees as if they were more fascinating than anything else in the world.

“You were. Why was that?”

He sighed at her soft tone and wondered if she was going to answer him truthfully the next few minutes. He wasn’t sure if he wanted her to or not.

“Marinette - the girl you left me with - told me that you weren’t disappointed seeing me faint like that. And I believed her but,” He started rubbing small soft circles on his right knee with his thumb. “tonight, it looked like you were _waiting_ for me to mess up.”

Sometimes he wished he wasn’t as honest as he was since sometimes saying what he felt terrified him and he hated feeling terrified. But he couldn’t lie to her. Not when she was looking so concerned and beautiful with the stars hanging over them like some sort of audience, awaiting his next move, trying to reach them both.

_I’m too young for this crap._

“Chat, of course I wasn’t disappointed and I’m still not,” He didn’t notice that she got up until he saw her feet right beside his rested legs. He looked up at her slowly and felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest. She looked genuinely apologetic and he didn’t know how to react. He just kept his hands on his knees and hoped he didn’t look as awkward as he felt. She bent down to his level and her knees were so close to touching the side of his thigh. “I was just worried, I’m sorry. You’re seriously an awesome partner and I know you’re capable of really _anything._ But, you fainted and I had your unconscious body in my arms and you were just so close to hitting the ground and-“  

_Oh._

Chat rested his hand on her right shoulder and squeezed lightly, a small reassuring smile on his face. They were looking at each other again and he wanted to hug her. I mean he _always_ wanted to hug her, but the urge at that moment was stronger than it usually was. He wanted to squeeze all the concern out of her, or at least as much as he could.

“I’m sorry for worrying you. I was just a bit sleep deprived then, but now I’m okay.”

She still didn’t look convinced.

“I _paw_ -romise you, my lady. This cat is as strong and energetic as ever.” He stretched out his legs on the ground and twisted his body slightly to the right to face her better, flexing his biceps in an exaggerated manner before winking flirtatiously.

“And you killed the moment.”

“I did not!”

“You did. And to think, I was about to hug you too.”

Chat gasped and Ladybug smiled, pleased with herself.

“T-that can still happen!”

Before he knew it, the heroine was up on her feet once more with her yoyo ready in her hand.

“Nah.”

“My lady!”

“What, sorry can’t hear you. I’m too busy getting ready to finish patrol.”

She was already near the edge of the building - her back faced him and Chat was still amusingly flustered, his body up like hers and his face turning a bright red underneath his mask.

“No you don’t! W-we need to talk about this!”

He heard her laughing as she latched her yoyo onto a pole nearby and he immediately grabbed his baton from behind him, extending it as he anticipated to go after her. She finally jumped off and swung away, Chat soon following behind as he tried to catch up to his best friend.

“Ladybug!”

She laughed once more and he felt it in his chest, a goofy smile forming on his lips.

* * *

**Chapter 10 of “The Empty Streets of Paris”**

**\--by** _**FelineGood16** _ **** **on FanWorkz.net**

“You’re irritating me right now, you know that?” The spotted hero states as she lands on top of the next rooftop. Her landing isn’t as graceful as it usually is.

“I only asked what you wanted to be when you’re older! How is that irritating?!”

“There’s a time and a place, and besides, you know how I feel about that stuff.”

They both stop for a second, Ladybug seeming to only be giving him the time of day so he can see the evident frustration in her expression.

“We’re on patrol! The city’s safe!”

“An akuma was wreaking havoc _yesterday_! We have to keep our eyes extra open tonight. Yesterday’s akuma was more intense than usual, and I don’t know if that means Hawkmoth’s planning something big. We don’t have time to focus on stupid questions.”

“It wasn’t stupid,” The hero’s both angry and hurt, and just utterly confused with the way his beloved handled things. How she _always_ handles things. He stomps himself closer to her, his body towering over hers and she doesn’t step back. It feels like she’s treating the whole situation as a contest of intimidation and she didn’t plan to lose. He huffs at that. “I’m sorry if I want to know a bit more about the stranger I’m trusting my life with!”

He didn’t mean for his tone to sound as harsh as it did, but he couldn’t help it. She never takes him seriously, and he’s beginning to get fed up with it. The way that she ignores him when he asks her something as simple as how her day was or the way she scoffs like that one time he asked her favorite color. He knows they have to keep their identities a secret, even from one another, but he doesn’t think it’d hurt them to know at least minuscule facts about each other. He wishes she could try to meet him halfway at least once in a while.

He doesn’t notice her expression soften until he feels her lower his baton down to the floor. He was holding it tensely in front of him like some sort of shield.

“I-I’m sorry I spoke to you that way. I didn’t me-“ He’s tense and regrets having spoken to her in that manner. He knows he messed up.

“It’s okay. You’re right. You always are.” Her hands are crossed awkwardly over her chest now and she looks even smaller than she actually is. He doesn’t like that he caused that. However, before he has the chance to apologize yet again, she interrupts him with her soft voice.

“A lawyer.”

“What?”

“I want to be a lawyer when I’m older. That’s my dream.”

He feels himself gasp as a shy smile grows on her face. She’s telling the truth and he’s melting.

“Is that an acceptable response?”

He nods quickly and she chuckles.

“Okay, good."

“I can just imagine you kicking ass and taking names in a big courtroom, my Lady. Especially while wearing a suit. You’d look _paw_ -some in a suit.”

“And you killed the moment.”

“No I did not! A person can’t say their partner would look good in a suit?!”

She chuckles again and grabs onto her yoyo, walking herself towards the edge of the building.

**“** You did. And to think,” Her smile brightens the night sky. “I was about to hug you too.”

* * *

 

“Duuuude, you are so not button smashing me right now.” Nino spoke, Adrien’s eyes still on the screen with half a slice of pizza hanging from his mouth.

“Iev havehjhk nokjsm ideagh whatuio meanshj.”

Nino chuckled and nudged his friend with his elbow jokingly before turning back to the screen as well. Adrien liked Nino’s flat. There were always boxes and socks (for some odd reason) everywhere, the walls were each different shades of red and purple, and it always smelled like home cooking with a touch of detergent. Everything about the environment just screamed ‘home’ and it made the blond feel at peace with everything for a while. That was probably the only benefit that came from his father’s command of never being able to allow Nino over, he got to go to his place more instead.

“Chew and swallow. And not both at once.”

 Adrien rolled his eyes before he tried out another combo move he got from online, his right thumb rotating the right stick quickly as his left continued pressing X and Y rapidly.

‘Player two is the winner’ the system sounded a few minutes later - Adrien finally bit the edge of the remaining pizza slice before he pulled it out from his mouth and placed it on the plate on the coffee table in front of them.

“Excuse me Nino, who was button smashing again?”

The blond had a cocky smirk playing on his lips as he leaned back into his best friend’s couch, his arms crossed over his chest with his attention on the other boy.

“ _You_ did and that’s why you won. You cheat!”

“I did not!”

“I can’t believe the guy that represented our school in the Ultimate Mecha Strike three tournament-“

“I didn’t Nino. That was Max and Marinette.”

“I can’t believe the guy that _almost_ represented our school in the Ultimate Mecha Strike three tournament is a button smasher. So messed up dude. Who is there to trust in this world anymore?!”

This time Adrien was the one to nudge the other teen with his elbow, a light laugh releasing from his lips.

“Found these new combos online! I wasn’t button smashing I was trying to remember the button order.”

Nino gasped dramatically in response and Adrien rose an eyebrow as his body continued to sink back into his friend’s very cushioned couch.

“You played dirty. That’s even worse! Especially since you didn’t link me.”

“I’ll link you when I get home. I bookmarked it.”

Nino narrowed his eyes at the boy and rose an eyebrow dramatically as he leaned closer to him, checking to see if he was bluffing while his hands gripped his knees firmly.

“Nino my dude, my bro, the love of my life: I promise you.”

Adrien continued to hold an amused expression on his face which seemed to be contagious since Nino nodded and started to chuckle, no longer able to hold his forced bravado.

“Okay, fine. I suppose I believe you,” Nino gave Adrien a friendly wink before he stood up and bent down in front of the table. “You done by the way?”

The blond nodded and helped the boy gather their cups and plates before handing them to him.

“Thanks.”

“Anything for the love of my life.”

“Bro.”

“Bro.”

They both laughed and Nino rolled his eyes before standing up straight and walking towards the kitchen.

“I also might as well be nice to you now since I’m going to cream you once I get back.”

Adrien snorted, slightly impressed by how the other teen could hold so many things in his hands without struggling even one bit. But also Nino had been a waiter at his cousin’s restaurant for a few summers now so he’d probably carried much heavier loads Adrien assumed.

“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” 

Once Nino finally left the room, Adrien slid out his phone from his pocket, the constant vibrating from earlier having stayed in his mind for a while. He knew they were notifications for his fic; damn, he felt them in his pocket for the past hour. Nathalie did text him a lot to inform and remind him of his daily schedule, but she’d never be that extreme, so it only came down to that one conclusion.

He updated the night before and still hadn’t checked the comments due to his lack of time and it’d been killing him all morning. His favorite part of updating were the comments, the words of strangers giving him an odd sense of validation and positivity in his life that he’d become addicted to. He wondered what they thought about the chapter, was desperate to check. And even though Nino was probably going to return in only a few minutes since it shouldn’t take that long to wash a few simple dishes, he couldn’t wait any longer. He decided to just check a few at least, a shy smile growing on his face.

“Thank god you’re finally checking that thing. That _bbbzzzz_ sound is sooo annoying.” Plagg spoke abruptly from inside his shirt, a little _too_ loud.

“Shh, Plagg. I’m trying to read.” The boy whispered back, not even looking at the kwami.

“Well, while you do that I’m going to nap. Open up your stupid bag.”

“It’s not stupid.”

“It hardly ever has Camembert in it so I disagree.”

Plagg yawned and Adrien finally placed his phone on his thigh before he scoped the room quickly, making sure no one was around. Many times Nino’s cousins would sleep over the night before and would turn up in a room unexpectedly, Adrien usually yelping from surprise once he saw them.

“Now would be nice.”

“Shhhh. Was just checking.”

Adrien grabbed his bag from the side of the couch and unzipped it quickly before revealing his small friend in his shirt, the god immediately flying into it, and plopping himself onto a bagged sandwich that Adrien hadn’t touched.

“You good?” the boy asked quickly, his patience fading as he stared down at the kwami.

After Plagg gave him a reassuring nod, he closed his eyes and Adrien zipped his bag once more, placing it back in its previous place and returning his attention to his phone.

_Alright, it’s time. It’s time._

He was practically jumping in his seat from a mixture of excitement and nerves as he unlocked the device and went straight to the fanfiction app, the small notification button on the bottom right having a number seventy-eight in bright red lettering plastered on the top corner of it.

He felt his cheeks flush momentarily before going to his recent chapter and scrolling straight down to the comments. The array of distinct usernames popped out right before his eyes and he wondered if he was being too obvious with what he was doing, his excitement most likely evident.

**_showmeyoureros:_ ** _This chapter was supeeeer cute <3 I especially love how Chat Noir wants to know more about Ladybug. Can’t wait till the next chap!!!_

**_debenvy:_ ** _Very interesting take on the aftermath of an akuma attack. I often wonder what those two talk about on patrol, especially after a hard battle. This story is turning out great so far! I wonder if Ladybug will reveal more about herself in the future._

**_alpha-ultimate-trash:_ ** _This is totally what they talk about when they’re alone and NO ONE CAN CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE. Love this chapter btw._

**_chat-noir-trash-can:_ ** _Poor Felix :( He just wants to bond with his lady. But also loving the angst my friend. As I always say, the more emo the better._

**_anipwrites:_ ** _I still find it a bit strange reading fanfiction about real life people. Especially since we don’t know really anything about these two. But this story is starting to be a guilty pleasure of mine, so I guess I’ll get used to it eventually lol. Great chapter!_

**_dusknightmare:_ ** _Your writing is so descriptive like ahhhhhhhhh!! I felt like I was there with them?!? Keep up the good work!!! :D <3_

Adrien didn’t even notice his right hand was over his heart until his phone vibrated again. He was touched, really. The comments so far seemed very supportive and his mind was immediately thinking about the thanks he was going to write for his next author’s note. He kept skimming through each message quickly, planning to read them thoroughly later on in the privacy of his own home. He always received compliments for his modeling, people telling him that he was attractive in a certain ad or others from the fashion industry congratulating him on his growing improvement of _posing_. It’s not that he minded them, but their words never really got the teen elated. He was happy that he wasn’t ruining his father’s name, but didn’t feel genuinely satisfied by them. For his fanfiction, however, the comments made his heart burst and his cheeks flush from utter joy and it was a feeling he’d never anticipated to ever feel. People genuinely enjoyed something that he did and it wasn’t because of his father or even because of his alter ego, but because of his own skill and that meant more to him than anyone would ever know.

Adrien heard the faucet from the kitchen turn off abruptly and he was aware that he was going to have to put his phone away soon and pretend that he wasn’t the happiest person in the world. But then his eyes suddenly caught a comment that made his smile ease into a small frown and he felt something sort of drop in his chest.  

**_sodokachi_ ** _: The run-on sentences are seriously bothering me. And in my opinion you made Chat Noir seem like a hell of a wimp. Who gets that emotional over someone not telling them what job they want to have?? Like???_

His grip on his phone loosened slightly.

“We have to go back to school soon! Just go home!”

Adrien shook his head at the approaching sound of his friend’s voice, quickly slipping his phone back into his pocket soon after hearing it.

“Nino, the only person that can give me orders around here is my lovely aunt. And she’s not here right now is she? So, if you’ll excuse me.”

The blond perked up a bit at the sound of the girl’s voice and he immediately got up from his seated position, walking over to Nino’s cousin who was walking in the room in only a tank top and dark black sweat pants. Her thick curly hair was up in a loose ponytail again and he could already see the scrunchy beginning to give out.

“Hey, Asmaa. Slept over again?” Adrien stated happily, the older woman brightening up immediately as she scooped the boy up in a hug and gave him a quick chaste kiss on his cheek.

“Why of course! Why would I pass up the chance to see my favorite blond cousin?”

“Asey, he is not your cousin. We are not rela-“

“Shhhh. Nino, your mom adopted him last time, remember,” Asmaa was still holding onto him, going on her tippy toes to whisper something in Adrien’s ear. “What a party pooper am I right?”

“I _can_ hear you! I am right here!”

She rolled her eyes before lowering one of her arms, the other now resting on the boy’s shoulder solely so she could move him forcefully along wherever she was going. Asmaa was very confident for a twenty-three-year-old, and he admired that about her. She was the type of person that could kill you with one look and revive you with another, Nino having even told Adrien one time that if she were a god, she would not be a merciful one.  

Asmaa and Nino bickered for a few minutes longer, Adrien smiling at their sibling-like behavior, their comfort with one another evident and fascinating to the boy. She continued to grip his arm with her small hand and he let her. He’d only met the girl about five times, but he had already grown accustomed to her carefree attitude and behavior, the two of them now passed the level of acquaintances.

“It’s our thing, Nino!”

“What part of _‘we have to go back to school_ _soon_ ’ don’t you understand?!”

A new episode of this anime both Asmaa and Adrien enjoyed came out that day, fully subtitled and everything. And hell if Adrien wasn’t excited. When he found out that the woman watched it too, they talked about it for a good half hour, the two of them squealing about the two protagonists while sharing their theories. Nino on the other hand had his headphones on and waited for their conversation to be done so he and his best friend could return to doing _something_ , _anything_ other than talking about some shoujo anime.  And that’s what ended up happening once again, Adrien feeling bad for his friend but promising him that the next day they could go back to his place and play as many games as he wanted without any interruption. That got the other boy happy enough, and he eventually agreed before placing his headphones on and playing an app on his phone as the two used his laptop.

They both started singing along with the theme once Asmaa pressed play, large smiles on both of their faces. In the previous episode, the main girl named Michiko put herself in front of her love interest Yuu to protect him from a gunman. It was a major cliff hanger and it’d been killing him all week. Was she going to cast a spell and reveal her magic to the love of her life in order to save him, or was she going to find another way?

“I seriously hope she uses her bracelet blasters spell.” Asmaa said.

Adrien nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

They both watched the fight in intense observation, Adrien’s theory proving right as the girl resorted to using magic, the fight sequence, however, never showing Yuu’s reaction. It wasn’t until the gunman finally passed out with blood dripping down his nose that they panned to the boy. He was wide-eyed and refused to meet the girl’s gaze, flinching when Michiko called out his name in a tender and loving voice. She was afraid, and so was Adrien, so was everyone that was probably watching.

The episode sped by quickly after that, Adrien feeling an odd sense of familiarity and guilt as he continued watching. Yuu eventually thanked Michiko for rescuing him, but ignored her at school, refusing to make any eye contact whatsoever. The teen was happy that the character did state his appreciation, but didn’t know what to feel about the rest. Asmaa on the other hand was _livid_ , and Adrien began to feel even more guilty the longer she spoke.

“Who just says thanks and ignores the person the rest of the week?! LIKE BRO SHE SAVED YOUR LIFE!”

“Asey, I have my volume at almost a hundred, and I can still hear you.” Nino spoke from behind them, the girl ignoring her cousin’s plea.

“What sort of an asshole does that?! When someone saves your life without even batting an eyelash, you do more than say thank you! Get them flowers or chocolates, or ANYTHING! ANYTHING BUT FUCKING IGNORING THEM!”

“ASEY!”

“NINO, I AM TRYING TO HAVE A CONVERSATION HERE THANK YOU.”

Adrien felt sick, his hands rubbing against each other in a nervous manner as he chuckled forcefully.

“Y-yeah.”

He was thinking about Marinette, he was thinking about what she did for him. And he was thinking about how much of an unappreciative ass he was. Asmaa was right, I mean she was always right, but that time there was no doubt about it and Adrien felt _terrible_.

_I have to do something. I have to do something._

“Y-you think he should’ve gotten her flowers, huh?” He asked, cursing at himself consistently in his mind.

She was still not looking at him, her eyes narrowed at the credits still rolling in front of them.

“Yeah! Flowers - _anything_!”

* * *

 

Chat tightened his grip around the bouquet of roses in his hand. He immediately asked his bodyguard to take him to the nearest flower shop after school, the man merely having blinked in response and driven without a question. When he and Nino had returned from their lunch break before, he found himself staring at Marinette as she walked into their class. She was talking to Alya, a playful smile on her face that rose her cheeks in that Marinette way, and Adrien wondered why he hadn’t considered giving her flowers before. Marinette was kind and never asked for anything in return when she would do her heroic acts. Like when she helped him catch the Evillustrator, she never publicized what she had done, the two heroes having received all the credit while Marinette remained as that anonymous citizen that gave the heroes a simple _tip_.

And when she caught him looking at her and gave him that nervous wave of hers with her bright smile that seemed to take over half of her face, that same pang of guilt returned in his stomach and determination began to bubble in his veins.

So, there he was at that moment, on her balcony at midnight, wondering if the girl was even awake and how she would react to seeing the hero again.

“Maybe I should’ve planned this out better.” He whispered, having forgotten momentarily that his kwami was not presently beside him and couldn’t respond. He had to be suave when doing this. He had to show his appreciation while still coming out as confident.

He stared at the trap door on the floor as soon as he puffed out his chest, his baton in one hand and the flowers in the other. This would usually be the scene in a fic where Chat Noir would visit Bridgette in her home at the dead of night. Possibly throwing rocks at her window like in those cliché 80’s American films to grab her attention. He would’ve just found out her identity and would be anxious to reveal his own, however, deciding to do so anyway in a dramatic manner. He’d read a few reveal chapters like that, however, this situation was obviously different. First, it was real life. Second, throwing rocks at someone’s window could get him noticed and even arrested. Third, he was on her balcony and there were no windows in sight. And fourth, Marinette wasn’t Ladybug and he wasn’t planning to reveal himself to her even if she was, at least not at that moment.

He sucked in a deep breath and extended his staff, tapping it against the trap door to hopefully catch her attention. He was at first going to just tap against that circular window of hers, but he didn’t want to invade her privacy or catch something he wasn’t supposed to see. His mother hadn’t raised a peeper.

He began to force his signature Chat Noir smirk on his lips, wondering if he should’ve placed a rose in his mouth for extra show. However, before he could decide whether to actually do so or not, the door began to open and he heard a soft yawn come from underneath.

_I woke her, didn’t I? Damn._

_Just stay cool._

“Who’s there? Speak quickly or I’ll call the authorities.” 

The door wasn’t opened all the way, the blond only able to see a bit of her wrist that was half hidden by a shadow.

“It’s me _purr_ -incess! No need to worry, your knight has come bearing a gift.”

“Chat Noir?” She lifted the glass slightly higher, her eyes revealing themselves. Chat winked and wasn’t sure if she saw it or not.

“In the flesh.”

The door then came up completely, Marinette popping out like a doll from a jack in the box. Her hair was down and she was wearing a hoodie that looked to be five times her size, possibly even more. The sleeves looked like they were swallowing her hands. Chat just kept smiling.

“Why are you here?”

Her arms crossed over her chest as she tried to make herself look intimidating for some reason. Her bottom lip was popped out and her eyes were narrowed, and the boy felt such an odd sense of déjà vu from her expression. Nevertheless, he wasn’t shaken by her harsh tone and harsh _everything_. Her cheeks were too big and cute and wow, he never even considered the fact that Marinette probably wore her hair down sometimes. He was almost tempted to ask her to put them back into pigtails for his sake. He felt like he was talking to someone else and it was making him feel all kinds of weird.

“As I said before, I came to give you something and to um,” He was starting to get timid now. He cleared his throat instead of thinking about it too much. “And to talk to you.”

Her expression still did not change one bit, however, after a while of silent observation, she motioned him to follow her with her hand. She hid back underneath the door and Chat joined her.

He fell against her bed with a _plop_. The girl already going down the stairs connected to the furniture once he sat himself up and followed along. Her bed was made and the lights were on, so he knew that - to his relief - she was already awake and he hadn’t disturbed her slumber.

She dropped her body tiredly in her swivel chair, rolling herself next to her chaise like the last time he was there. She obviously expected him to sit in his spot from last time and he obliged, placing his baton on his back and checking to make sure the bouquet was fine in the process. She eyed the roses watchfully once he sat himself down, something obviously on her mind. She still had that crease in-between her eyebrows, her shoulders stiff.

“You brought me flowers.”

“Yeah.”

“At midnight.”

“Uhuh.”

“On a _school_ night.”

He nodded.

“Explain.”

He thought about what he was going to say throughout his whole journey over there. He tried to create dialogue in his mind, imagining what actions he’d do too alongside his words. However, she was staring at him almost accusingly and he couldn’t remember anything. His right hand was tangling itself in his hair and Chat was wondering where the hell that red umbrella from last time was.

“So you took me in last time when I, you know-“

“Passed out?”

“Yeah, that.”

“Okay?”

He nodded again and he didn’t know why. She cleared her throat a few seconds later and he realized that he wasn’t looking at her, so he started to.

_Crap, okay. Okay._

“So like…thank you?”

_WHY DID YOU MAKE IT SOUND LIKE A QUESTION?!_

“Uh… You’re welcome?”

The hero groaned and tightened his grip in his hair as his eyes shut tightly from embarrassment for a second.

“My god that sucked.”

“Excuse me?”

“NO! I DIDN’T MEAN _YOU_ I-“

“SHHH.”

Her hands immediately went for his mouth and he almost dropped the bouquet on the floor, his eyes widened.

“What did I say about screaming?!”

“I’mhjn sorryhibs.”

“It’s okay. Just lower your voice, alright?’

Adrien nodded and he thanked the heavens that the girl still hadn’t kicked him out yet.

After a few minutes of him apologizing and thanking her as properly as an awkward teen still suffering from horrific embarrassment could, she pushed a few hair strands behind her right ear and placed the flowers on her lap. Her fingers grazed over the petals lightly and he noticed that she was wearing the same pajama shorts from last time.

“Thanks… for the flowers I mean.”

“Yeah, seriously no problem.”

He expected maybe a small smile from her, any form of a happy expression that would lift those cheeks of hers. But instead he got that same hard look that could create lightning and he pondered whether or not she had something to tell him too.

“I’ve been actually meaning to speak with you.”

She did.

He crossed one leg over the other and sat up straight, not sure if he should be worried or not. In the stories that he’d read, whenever that line appeared it was almost always said by Ladybug following with something bad, something treacherous. And usually she would apologize and reject Chat Noir’s affections after or state that she was going to retire from the whole superhero business. Chat never felt comfortable reading those stories and would have to force himself to continue to the next chapter. He’d also heard similar lines to that one from his own father’s lips, but he didn’t want to think about those whatsoever. And now there was Marinette, saying it to him _at that moment_ and the boy had no clue what to expect or how to react in general.

“What’s on your mind?” He was going to add _princess_ at the end, but decided to bite his tongue instead, Ladybug’s words having echoed in his mind briefly. _There’s a time and a place, Chat._

She folded her hands over the top part of her thighs, right before the area where the bouquet rested, and refused to break eye contact. Chat felt like he was at a job interview.

“I’m going to make this blatantly clear.” She started.

“Okay?”

“I know your secret.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien needs a hug tbh  
> (Chapter isn't beta'd so warning)

Adrien had often wondered who would figure out his secret identity first. Not that he was _certain_ that someone would find out in the first place, but sometimes he did find his mind entertaining the idea. His first thought was always Ladybug and not just because Adrien wouldn’t mind it at all – hell, it’d make him feel all kinds of happy – but because it simply seemed the most probable. There were just so many ways that the spotted hero could find out. She could see him de-transform by accident after patrol or battle, an akuma could snatch his ring without him knowing right in front of her, maybe one day he would lose all self-control and just simply _show_ her, and so many other possible scenarios. He’d even read a few fanfictions where the ‘reveal’ scene seemed much more realistic than the idea of anyone else figuring him out, let alone one of his own classmates.  

But there he sat, in Marinette’s chaise with the girl’s big blue eyes gaping at him as if she knew every one of his secrets and he still couldn’t believe it. If Ladybug were to find out they could work with their situation and plan their next step. They were both superheroes - if someone went for them they could use their abilities to their greatest potential and fight back _together_. So, to him there was no real issue with Ladybug knowing.   

But a civilian finding out…a civilian that was his _friend_. That was a totally different story and a totally different anxiety and fear all together. If Marinette truly knew, then her life could be in danger. If she decided to tell anyone or if the secret somehow slipped from her mouth other lives could be at risk as well. Everything could go _wrong_ and it would all be because Adrien didn’t try hard enough to keep his identity a secret. Because Adrien _failed_.

And that thought was terrifying.

A few seconds had passed since she spoke that sentence, and both were silent. A few birds were heard chirping from outside her window and Chat felt his heart in his throat.

What if he was jumping to conclusions and she meant something else?

What if she had mistaken his identity like that time he had mistaken Ladybug’s for Chloe?

He wasn’t sure and he should’ve really been asking those questions already, but he was still shocked and he was beginning to wonder if any of this was even real or if he was just having some vivid, mind-fucking nightmare.

“Chat!”

He felt his body flinch at her tone. Her knees bumped into his and he _felt_ them, god why did he have to feel them? Why was this actually happening?!

“I-I’m sorry princess, you just made this cat feel like he walked on a hot tin roof.”

He chuckled forcefully at his own comment and she rose an eyebrow. She was waiting for his response, for _something_ but he was still at a loss for words and her knees were still touching his. He wished his Miraculous allowed Plagg to communicate with him. Even if it was in a sort of temporary telepathic way. It would be creepy and sort of annoying, knowing how Plagg liked to talk, but in situations like that, he thought his friend’s words would’ve been very helpful.

He sighed instead.

“So uh,” his right hand scratched the back of his neck, and he grabbed onto a few strands of hair in the process. “how’d you find out?” he added a small and awkward reassuring smile at the end of his sentence so he could feel like he knew what he was doing.

He honestly didn’t.

Her expression of course didn’t change but she did clear her throat. However, Chat didn’t know what to make of that exactly.

“You weren’t exactly _subtle_.”

“W-what do you mean?”

Many thoughts began to overflow the blond’s mind. He tried to remember any instances in which he could’ve given himself away to the girl. He didn’t think he was obvious when he was Chat, though he did admit that there were a few close calls with Ladybug. However, with Marinette? Nothing.

How could she have caught on? Was it because of that time he bowed when he greeted her at her home?

He didn’t think that action was really _that_ evident, but this was also Marinette who was best friends with one of the most observant girls in Paris, so maybe something rubbed off on her and he hadn’t noticed.

_Is that why she’s always so nervous around me?_

“ _Are you disappointed in me tonight?”_ Marinette’s hands finally lifted from her lap and she began to move them animatedly as she spoke, her voice and expression theatrical and exaggerated. It looked as if she was acting out a play, even playing with the tone of her voice and Adrien was awfully confused. “ _Of course not! I was worried though_!”

Her hands went over her heart and those over-sized sleeves fell closer to her elbows as she did so.

“Uh…”

Chat was no longer worried, but instead lost as he tried to figure out what his friend was trying to tell him. Her expression was back to being accusing with her eyes in a squint and her eyebrows raised. Her hands were back on her lap, refusing to touch the bouquet for some reason. Chat’s own hand went from his neck to his right knee and he was once again speechless.

If she really did know his identity than she had a real funny way of telling him.

He laughed awkwardly.

“As much as I enjoyed your _purr_ formance, princess, I’m not really getting where you’re going with this.”

She rolled her eyes and stood up abruptly, rolling her chair back slightly in the process with his bouquet gripped in her right hand tightly. A few of her hair strands began to fall over her face effortlessly from the action but she ignored them, her attention solely on the wide-eyed boy in front of her.

She pointed the bouquet at him, a few rose petals touching his nose, and his eyes crossed quickly as he stared at them, frozen in place.

“You put what I said to you in your story, Chat Noir!”

If this was another situation, one that was less heart-stopping and less world-ending, he probably would’ve reminded Marinette that she was screaming and could’ve awakened her parents at any moment just to tease her a bit.  But they weren’t in another situation and Adrien was too busy planning his funeral to say anything anyway. He wondered if his gravestone would say _Death by Marinette Dupain-Cheng_ or something much more specific like _His friend found his fanfiction and he felt so humiliated that he literally died._

She knew that he wrote fanfiction. That Chat Noir, a hero of Paris, wrote fanfiction about him and his partner. Was she going to tell Alya? Maybe a reporter? He wasn’t sure. He’d like to think that Marinette wasn’t that kind of person, but he also didn’t really know her that well.

He realized that he hadn’t confirmed or denied anything yet, and when thinking of what to do he finally decided to just say something that Plagg would probably say and winged everything completely.

“In my _story_? What story?”

She didn’t move the bouquet, and continued to stare at him long and hard. Marinette looked like the kind of person that would get so focused on a certain objective that they’d forget to blink. While Chat on the other hand was the type that would forget to breathe.

“The story that _you’re_ writing about! The one about you and Ladybug!”

“ _Me_ writing a story about my own partner? Why would I do something like that?”

His voice shook a bit at the last words and he hated himself for it.

“That’s what I’m trying to find out! Just admit it, Chat! Or should I say,” She pushed the bouquet further into his face and he lifted his chin up so it was touching his neck instead of suffocating him. He looked up at her. “ _FelineGood16_.”

Chat almost gulped.

“Marinette, seriously I don’t-“

“I don’t like liars. And I won’t judge you for it if you just admit it.”

Even though the flowers were still pointed at him, he could tell that she loosened her grip a bit. The rose petals touching his neck felt less forced, like he could easily push them away if he wanted and she’d let him.

He eventually sighed in defeat and she lowered the bouquet, holding it loosely in her hand as she crossed her arms over her chest. They were dangling from her grip and he saw a few petals fall to the floor.

“I thought you found out my secret identity for a moment there.”

“I did. But not the one you thought.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled that awkward chuckle again for what seemed like the thousandth time. He didn’t know what she wanted out of this new conversation, so he waited for any form of guidance. His cheeks were warm and flushed an incredible red and it was beginning to get hard for him to look her in the eye. Especially, since she was still gazing at him intensely.

“So, why are you doing it?”

“Writing fanfiction?”

“Yeah, fanfiction about you and your partner. Is this all some sort of joke?”

His eyebrows furrowed together.

“Joke?”

“Yeah, like is your story a form of satire or-or- I don’t know.” Her hands were moving along with her words.

“It isn’t satire. I’m being serious. It’s all serious.”

Was she going to start making fun of him for it? She did promise that she wouldn’t judge him if he just owned up to it, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t laugh at him.

Though, she didn’t seem to be smiling one bit and her expression was far from being amused.  He wasn’t sure what to think. Marinette was one giant mystery to him.

“Then why? I don’t get it. What do you gain from this? Is someone making you do this?”

“Why would someone force me to write fanfiction?”

“I don’t know!” She started pacing back and forth in deep thought, the tip of her right index finger rested on her lip. Adrien noticed that she was barefoot and her toenails were painted a bright pink. It was still hard for him to look at her eyes. “Did an akuma make you do this or…or is this some weird battle tactic you made up?“

The teen almost snorted at that. He knew she was giving him several free tickets to get himself out of the awkward conversation. He could’ve easily regained his dignity by stating that he wrote his story to get closer to the citizens of Paris or because, like she said, it was some new odd battle strategy he made up. But his writing was also important to him and he didn’t want to lie about it. He didn’t want to be ashamed of something he enjoyed. Besides, in what world would someone use fanfiction as a weapon anyway?

“No and no. Marinette I-“ he sighed and finally looked at her again. She wasn’t pacing anymore but he saw how she had rested the bouquet on the chair she was previously sitting in. “In all honesty, I write this for myself. No motives, no weird intentions. I just like writing it.”

His cheeks still felt warm under his mask and he still wanted to end the conversation already so he could go home and scream in his pillow, but he did feel a bit of relief after having finally admitted that to someone other than Plagg. His chest felt both light and heavy at the same time.

Her lips were still formed in a frown, her confusion evident. She frustratingly still had questions. Chat wondered if this whole conversation would’ve been easier on him if the lights were off.

“So is this some like,” she began to move her hands in a small circular outward motion as she tried to finish her sentence before she stopped abruptly, her eyes widening and her cheeks flushing a bright red. “You know what, I don’t even want to know.”

She looked embarrassed and was no longer making eye contact with the hero. Which made Chat even more curious than before.

“What? What is it?”

“Nothing. Forget I said anything.”

She ran her fingers through her bangs swiftly and Chat briefly saw some of her forehead.

“Come on. Tell me.”

“Um.”

“Spit it out, princess.”

Her cheeks flushed even more at that for some reason and Adrien almost gasped when she finally met his gaze again. He was beginning to feel secondhand embarrassment and he still wasn’t even sure what she was thinking about.

She cleared her throat.

“Is your story like some weird Ladybug…”

“ _Ladybug_...”

“Ladybug… _fantasy_ thing?”

The other teen’s eyes shot wide open immediately and he felt his whole face heat up all the way to the tips of his ears. Even his tail struck upward at her words.

“NO! NO! OF COURSE NOT WH-“

“Lower your voice!”

Marinette’s hands went over his mouth like the last time and he continued to mumble into her hands, shaking his head quickly so she could truly grasp his response. Both of their complexions resembled ripe tomatoes and Marinette kept looking back, making sure neither one of her parents awakened.

“Okay! I believe you! I believe you! See? This is why I didn’t want to say anything!”

Chat shut his eyes tight and placed his hands over hers gently to signal her to release him, and she eventually did. A loud gasp escaped him and he continued to shake his head, though less exaggerated as before.

“Why would you think that?”  He whispered as loudly as he could, his tail finally falling back down behind him. He’d never been more relieved to be wearing a mask.

“I don’t know, okay! I’m just trying to figure this whole thing out.”

“Figure out what? I already told you, I write it because I like to.”

“But _why_?”

He sighed and began to explain in as much detail as he could without risking his identity. He started from the beginning, telling her how he had overheard a few people talking about fanfiction and checked it out to clear his confusion. That at first he was embarrassed since these people obviously wrote out the stories to be romantic, thus, writing him in intimate situations with his partner. But that after a few chapters he didn’t mind it as much anymore. Adrien loved being a superhero, loved his responsibility, but he did often worry about what could happen to both him and his Lady. Especially since they had to put their lives at risk almost every day. He was human after all so being terrified and having those concerns in his mind were expected. But reading some of those stories gave him hope that things could turn out good in the long run, that him and Ladybug could defeat Hawkmoth without any detrimental consequences.

He was almost tempted to tell Marinette that the stories also gave him hope for him and Ladybug in a romantic sense as well, but decided against it since he felt that she knew too much already. But a small part of him did regret not telling her so. She was finally sitting back down and was giving him her undivided attention.  She was looking at him in a sort of gaze that would make anyone trust her with all their secrets, that made Adrien wish he knew her better enough to know whether that look was something everyone had in them or if it was just a Marinette thing.

He continued talking and she continued listening and he realized that it was a Ladybug thing too.

That made him oddly happy.

 “So, you started writing because someone wrote you as a jerk?” She finally asked, her right leg crossed over the other, the bouquet now rested on the ground beside her feet. With what all those flowers went through in the past hour, the blond was surprised they were still held together, though barely.

“They wrote that I rejected Ladybug when she revealed her identity!”

She rose an eyebrow.

“Was it _that_ big of a deal?”

Chat’s hand flew up in the air and Marinette’s eyes followed the movement briefly.

“Of course! The fact that someone thinks I would treat my partner like that is insulting!”

She smiled at that, a small quirk of her lip.

“Yeah, that’s not something you would do.”

“Exactly.”

She shrugged.

“My best friend was actually complaining about that same story because of that exact part. That’s why she wanted me to read yours so bad. She thinks yours is more… _realistic_.”

He felt a sense of pride at her words until a new realization hit him.

Marinette read his story. Marinette – the girl who constantly criticized his writing and refused to ever look at it – actually read it. And he finally had an opportunity to ask her things that had been burning his thoughts for weeks. His stomach suddenly turned and he wasn’t sure whether it was due to excitement or nervousness. Possibly both.

He gulped and she noticed.

“Is everything alright?”

He put on a smug smile, and leaned forward with his elbows now rested on the edges of his knees.

“So, would you like to tell me why you were reading Ladynoir fanfiction, Princess?”

He masked his nerves with his forced bravado, but began to sink more into it the longer it took the other teen to answer.

“Yours was the only one I’ve read and will _ever_ read. I’ll have you know that I have my reasons, and curiosity and enjoyment were neither of them.”

“Well, what are they then?”

Her cheeks flushed, but her expression didn’t change.

“You have your secrets and I have mine.”

“Come on, Mari-“

“Nope.”

“Fine. Fine. I understand.”

He really didn’t and it was sort of killing him inside, but he ignored it.

“But did you um-“ He cleared his throat and sat correctly again, his confidence beginning to waver. “did you like it?”

“Your story?”

“Uh…yeah.”

She shrugged and he wanted to scream.

“I told you already, fanfiction isn’t my thing.”

“But let’s say it was…”

“But it isn’t.”

“You read my story.”

“I thought we’ve established that it was not done exactly willingly.”

“But you read more than a chapter.” That got the girl quiet and Chat felt one of his eyebrows raise in curiosity, his expression turning smug. He had her. “Whatever your motives were, if the story was bad you wouldn’t force yourself to read as far ahead as you have.”

“How do you know I read far?”

“You quoted chapter nine.”

She opened her mouth as if to speak but closed it quickly before she could say anything. Her arms were crossed over her chest once again and Chat saw the way her thumb was rubbing small circles on her bicep. She was obviously trying to come up with some excuse to defend herself, but she had nothing. Marinette didn’t seem like the type that would lie, no matter how much she probably wanted to. So, as she continued avoiding his eyes, his smile began to grow and hope bloomed nicely in his chest.

“I did like some of the fighting scenes I suppose…”

_HOLY CRAP._

He was practically bouncing in his seat when she finally glanced back at him, his tail struck up yet again but from utter joy instead of shock like last time.

“Really?” He asked excitedly.

She looked over at his tail behind him and chuckled lightly, the tenseness of her expression beginning to melt slowly.

“Don’t let this get to your head but yeah, really. Your descriptions are pretty vivid. It actually makes so much more sense now that I know you’re the writer.”

Adrien was trying to collect himself, process the praise from the girl that he’d been wanting to hear from for weeks now. He wasn’t expecting to hear that kind of feedback from Marinette _ever_ , let alone that night. He couldn’t stop grinning and his cheeks were beginning to hurt.

“A civilian now knows that the great Chat Noir writes fanfiction about himself and he’s happy?”

She had a small, confused, yet amused smile on her face as she continued to look at him.

“You really think I’m great too? Gosh, the compliments won’t stop coming from you today. I’m blushing.”

He actually was.

“ _Chat_.”

He shrugged, still smiling brightly.

“You like my story.”

“I didn’t say I liked it. I just said I liked that _aspect_ of it.”

“It’s still _something_!”

She stayed in silence for a while and that comfortable and soft expression that Adrien liked seeing on his friend began to fade and tensed once more.

“Does anyone else know about this?” She finally asked, her voice lower than it’d ever been.

A small frown was beginning to form on his lips as well, the reality of the situation having finally awakened him like a bucket of ice water falling over his head.

“No, just you.” Hesitant, he licked his lips and glanced down at his knees briefly before meeting her eyes again. “Please, don’t tell anyone.”

“Like anyone would even believe me. _Chat Noir, a secret Ladybug fanfiction writer_?” She chuckled, but it didn’t seem genuine. “Sounds more like some bogus headline than a fact.”

He sighed.

“Marinette-“

“Of course I won’t. Doing that didn’t even cross my mind.”

Her gaze was serious, her shoulders still and unmoving like that of a loyal soldier. She wanted him to trust her word and he did.

“Okay, thank you.”

She gave him a small nod and the room grew silent again.

“Is it weird that I’m kind of glad you found out?” He found himself asking, his right hand gripping the cushion beside him ever so slightly.

“Hmm. A little. I wouldn’t be as calm as you are right now if I were in your shoes.”

“I guess I’m okay with it because it’s you that found out.”

She rose an eyebrow.

“You don’t know me that well, Chat Noir.”

He felt both saddened and determined by that fact.

 “That’s true. But my last visit you called me your friend. And friends don’t break their promises, right?”

“No,” She smiled softly at him before sighing. “They don’t.”

He reflected her expression for a moment.

“But, friends _also_ don’t write out their conversations in a story for _thousands_ of people to read.”

He laughed awkwardly before scratching the back of his head, feeling as if he was just jabbed in the chest.

“You’re really mad about that aren’t you?”

Marinette’s lips formed into a pout as she crossed her arms over her chest again. Her body language telling enough.

“If it makes you feel any better, a lot of people said that your words were their favorite part of the chapter?”

Silence.

He sighed.

“I’m really sorry about that, Princess. That wasn’t cool of me. I’ll even change the dialogue if you really want me to.”

“You don’t have to change it, but don’t do it again.”

He nodded and crossed the part of his chest where his heart lay underneath with his right index finger.

“Cat’s honor.”

She nodded back.

“Good. And one last thing.”

“Yeah?”

“You think Ladybug wants to be a _lawyer_? Really, out of every career in the world?”

Chat gasped dramatically.

“What’s wrong with that?!”

 

* * *

 

 “Here’s your damn water. You owe me two euros.” Kim returned alongside Max, handing Alix the bottle of water she asked for.

Adrien and Nino were standing beside the short girl, the five of them at a park nearby Kim’s house. Alix wanted to show them all her new roller-blades. Apparently, they were more expensive than her last pair and made her go even faster than before. Kim, however, didn’t believe that and challenged her to a race yet again. The loser had to buy the whole group water bottles from an obnoxious tourist stand they passed earlier and Kim wasn’t too happy with the result.

“Two euros for _one_ water bottle? That guy ripped you off man.” Nino commented, grabbing a bottle from Max’s hold. Adrien did the same, smiling in amusement at Kim and Alix’s bickering.

“Excuse me?! I won this bottle fair and square, I owe you nothing.” She responded, Max uncapping his bottle quickly and chugging down the liquid immediately. It was almost scorching outside and while the three were able to stay under the protective shade of the trees, Kim and Max had to wait in line in the hot sun for overpriced water. They were both drenched in sweat.

“Fair and square?! You totally cheated!”

Alix scowled at that and stomped herself closer to the boy.

“You’re just making up excuses now! I did not cheat!”

“Did too!”

“Did not!”

“Hey, guys. You both need to calm down.” Nino stepped in between the two of them, resting his hand on Kim’s chest and his other on the top of Alix’s head with his water bottle touching her hair. “Alix, the poor kid just finished waiting in line in like a million-degree weather for fifteen minutes. Cut him some slack.”

Kim nodded in agreement at that - Adrien took a sip of his own drink as he and Max rose their eyebrows at each other.

“And Kim,” Nino continued, glancing up at the taller boy. “You did lose dude. Just admit defeat and don’t be a sore loser.”

“Told you, Kim! Thanks for having my back, mom!”

Nino let go of the two and rolled his eyes, sighing.

“What did I tell you about calling me that, Alix?”

She shrugged and chuckled.

“You’re the mom friend of the squad, dude. Own it.”

“I am not!”

Adrien laughed, stuffing his left hand in his pocket casually.

“Nino, when I tripped that one time in your room, you took out band-aids from your pocket _immediately_.” The blond said while Max patted a defeated Kim on the shoulder sympathetically.

“And? That just means I _happened_ to have band-aids on me that one time.”

“I wasn’t even bleeding and you didn’t just take out two or three, you had like twenty in there.”

Alix started laughing as she punched Nino’s left bicep playfully.

“Whatever.”

The five began to walk around together after that. The conversation went from Kim’s next basketball match, to Max’s critique of some new video-game him and Alix played, to other topics that made the atmosphere light and social. Him and Alix at one point even began to kick a rock back and forth to each other and it all just felt so nice.

Those four practically grew up together and have had experiences that Adrien had never and probably _would_ never have with them, their friendship with each other at a completely different level than their friendship with him. Yet, they’d all accepted Adrien into their small group without even a question and moments like that really made him wonder why it took him so long to escape to public school.

He couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

“Adrien, are you listening?”

The blond shook his head a little before he turned to look down at the pink-haired girl on his left.

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”

“I asked if it’s cool with you that Marinette chills with us. She just texted Kim that she’s pretty bored since Alya’s busy babysitting her sisters or something.”

Adrien hadn’t talked to Marinette in a few days since the last time he was Chat Noir. He attempted to talk to her the following morning, but she just stuttered out a ‘ _hello_ ’ and was dragged by Alya to god-knows-where. He never really got the opportunity to _really_ talk to her, and dealt with the distance by observing her from afar whenever he had the chance. He studied the girl, especially when she was with Alya. He wanted to know if she kept her promise and told her best friend nothing of their night.

He told her that he trusted her, and a large part of him did. But, also this was something that involved his secret identity – at least to Marinette – and if the word spread that she even talked to him, she could be put in danger.

However, so far it didn’t seem that she’d told anyone. Nothing was on the Ladyblog and the only thing he’d heard about his alter ego was old news. So, it was all going smoothly, at least for now.

He wondered what it would be like to talk to her again, but as Adrien. And not just awkward greetings, but an actual conversation. He remembered their last one from their day at the café. And though it was a bit too quiet for his liking, he still enjoyed her company. He hoped, however, that one day she’d be comfortable enough around him to talk to him like she had with Chat.

Now that would be _really_ cool.

“Yeah, sure. Why wouldn’t it be?”

She gave Kim a quick thumbs up before shrugging.

“Let’s just say that World War three has already happened. And it happened three months ago when Kim invited Chloe to my house without warning.”

Adrien rose his eyebrows in surprise and Alix nodded, continuing.

“It’s now a squad obligation to ask first.”

Adrien hummed in understanding at that and stood around with the others near a bench while they waited patiently for the blue-eyed girl. Alix decided to take her skates back out from her backpack to switch them with her sneakers so she’d be ready to show Marinette. Max was talking to Nino about some school assignment, Kim was still looking at his phone, and Adrien was feeling a bit nervous. He kept twisting and untwisting his bottle cap.

The girl showed up a few minutes later - Alix immediately grabbed her hands and pulled her to the rest of the group to show them all her skating once again. Marinette hadn’t noticed him yet.

She was wearing a Jagged stone tank top with a long knitted red cardigan that Adrien thought was cool, she looked very calm, and still hadn’t looked at him.

Adrien had to remind himself that just because she treated him differently than everyone else didn’t mean that they weren’t friends. She even told him word-for-word that they were.

Though, it was when he was in his suit.

“A-Adrien?!”

He laughed awkwardly.

“Hi, Marinette. How are you?”

“You-You’re here?! In the park,” Her cheeks were turning redder by the second. “with us?”

“Uh,” He forced another chuckle and glanced over at Nino who gave him a simple shrug. “Yeah. My fencing practice got cancelled so I thought it’d be cool to hang out with everyone.”

She was still gaping at him in disbelief and he wasn’t really sure what to think of that.

“Is that alright with you?” He asked shyly, his hands shoved in his pockets.

Alix wrapped her left arm around the girl’s shoulder and Marinette’s head shot up.

“Yeah! Of course! Why would I have a problem hanging out with an amazing and gor-“

Alix squeezed her shoulder and smiled forcefully at the girl before Marinette’s faced flushed further and she cleared her throat.

“What I meant to say was um, I was just surprised was all. Sorry, I wasn’t notified that you were here.” She tried to sneakily glare at Kim who wasn’t even paying attention before looking back at the blond, smiling widely. Too widely. “But I think it’s um nice that you are… _here_.”  

“Uh yeah,” He scratched the back of his neck, his smile timid. “It is nice.”

The two of them continued to stare at each other a while longer, Marinette’s expression much more genuine than before with her lips slightly separated. Adrien wondered what she was thinking.

“Alix, how much longer are we going to stand here? Just show Mari your damn skates already so I can show her my tree climbing skills.” Kim said.

Alix removed herself from Marinette so she could cross both of her arms over her chest.

“What skills? You fell on your ass the last time you tried to beat that squirrel.”

“That squirrel started earlier than I did and it threw me off!”

“Oh my god.” Alix simply responded, rolling her eyes.

Max adjusted his glasses before walking himself closer to his friends.

“Kim, a squirrel can distribute its mass across its claws which keeps their center of gravity and prevents them from falling.”

“And?!”

“ _And_ you’re a human with no climbing equipment on you. You can’t beat a squirrel.”

The three began to bicker once more and Adrien couldn’t help but laugh, the tension in the atmosphere having eased intensely. He covered his mouth with his hand gently, trying to suppress the loud sound. However, it didn’t seem to work since he found Marinette staring at him again. Except this time, she was laughing along with him. Her laugh was contagious and sweet and reminded him of that moment they had in the rain in the first week of school.

Soon after, Nino finally stopped the three from speaking about the subject any further and they began to walk, Alix skating ahead of them and doing a few jumps to show off to Marinette who was very impressed. It was fun and _normal_ the time that they had together. He couldn’t wait to tell Plagg about it once he got home, though, he knew that his kwami was probably listening to the whole thing from the inside of his shirt. He hoped he wasn’t too hot.

They talked a bit more about random things to pass the time, neither one of them really wanting to go. Adrien began to think about Ladybug for some reason. He wondered how they’d be if they hung out like that outside of their duties. What did she think about the park? What did she do with her friends after school? What would she wear on a day like this?

The longer he thought about it, the more ideas popped into his head. He didn’t want to ever create an image of his lady since she was a human and not some character in his imagination, but sometimes he couldn’t help but think of possible qualities. He felt like she was the type that wore both pants and shorts in the Fall, that the weather didn’t stop her from wearing what she wanted. That she listened to music that spoke to her, that was so intense you could feel it in your bones. Whatever she did outside of the mask, she did it with style. And if she didn’t meet any of those descriptions, she’d still be amazing. Adrien just wished he could fill in the blanks with actual facts.

He found himself sighing at that and realized that Marinette was walking right next to him when she started talking.

“Something on your mind?”

He glanced down at her and saw a sparkle of curiosity in her eyes.

“Nothing really. Was just thinking about an assignment I have to do later tonight.”

“Ah.”

They walked silently for a few seconds more. The rest of the group seemed to be having an intense discussion about some show Nino started watching on Netflix.

“I’ve um,” Hesitant, Marinette spoke up again. “I’ve started reading that fanfiction you and Alya read.”

That _really_ got Adrien out of his Ladybug daze. He tensed almost immediately - his face began to flush and his shoulders stiffened.

_Act cool, Agreste. Act cool._

“O-oh you have?”

_Damn it!_

“Y-yeah.” She started twisting a strand of hair from her right pigtail around her finger slowly.

“And what do you think?”

He already knew what she thought. She made it very clear that night. However, he wasn’t opposed to listening to how good his action scenes were once more.

He expected a shrug like last time, maybe a sigh before she broke it to him that she wasn’t into the whole fanfiction thing. But instead she smiled genuinely at him and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be that’s for sure.” She began.

_What did she think it was gonna be like?!?_

“But, the fight scenes are pretty good. And um I think I’m going to read on?”

She sounded unsure at the last part, but Adrien decided to ignore that for the time being. She confirmed that she was going to continue reading. That Adrien’s work was worth it. And hell, did it make him optimistic.

“So, you like it?”

She continued to twist her hair again for another moment in thought before nodding slowly.

“Yeah, I suppose it's not bad.”

They discussed his story for a while, Marinette stating how she wasn’t too fond of the way Ladybug was written, that sometimes it was too much.

“She’s a superhero, not a goddess, you know? She’s amazing and very intelligent I, give the writer that. But she’s also a human and she can mess up sometimes.”

Adrien mentally jotted her critiques down, taking them into great consideration. She did have a point about that, though Adrien felt that he wrote the heroine as he saw her, as he felt. But also, his admiration could sometimes blind him from a few things as Plagg had mentioned to him before.

"So, I didn't really think this was your sort of thing." Marinette had spoken again, her eyes trying so hard to stay on his.

"Fanfiction?"

"Yeah."

He chuckled.

"I didn't think it was going to be. But, after a few chapters I sort of got into it and from then on I couldn't really stop."

He shrugged, not really knowing what else to do. He oddly felt vulnerable in front of Marinette at that moment. He had to watch what he responded to make sure she didn't catch onto anything that hinted at his identity, But also he wanted to tell her as much as he could and it both scared him and excited him in a way. He still wasn't sure what it was about her. She seemed so familiar yet so new like one of those memories that could've easily been some vivid dream. 

"Do you... _like_ the idea of Chat Noir and Ladybug being together?" She asked. 

He glanced down at her and her eyes quickly widened before she turned away, avoiding his gaze. 

"I-I mean... sure? Doesn't everyone?"

"I don't know. I didn't realize that people thought of them that way until recently to tell you the truth."

"Yeah, me too." 

His face felt warm, and he was sure that it wasn't solely because of the weather. What was he supposed to say? Would it be weird if he spoke to his friend about that situation? Did Marinette not think him and his Lady were good for each other?

"Do um... you not like them as a romantic pair?" He asked courageously, his heart thumping in his chest.

"I," She laughed nervously before shaking her head. "I think they're just good friends. But also, you never know!"

She sounded hesitant at the last part, like she didn't believe herself but decided to say it anyway. Adrien was playing with his bottle cap again. Marinette was still staring at the ground, sneaking glances at him from time-to-time.

He wanted to ask her why she read his fanfiction if she didn't even ship Ladynoir in the first place, but decided against it. The topic seemed to be making her uncomfortable and he didn't want her to be even shyer around him than she already was. He felt like they were finally making progress and he didn't want to ruin that. 

He decided to change the topic to the park, something safe and easy to discuss. Marinette seemed to look relieved at that and Adrien wasn't sure how to feel.

The other three eventually joined in as well.

They talked about how nice the park was. Kim stated how it was his favorite one to go to and not just because it was the nearest to his house. He enjoyed seeing the animals and the people that would train there sometimes for several different sports. Both Alix and Max liked the large fountain that was near one of the entrances. Alix liked observing the different interactions around it.

“You really see some shit around that fountain.” She stated, explaining how she’d seen several different things from a couple getting engaged to a man throwing three hot dogs in the water for no reason before screaming, “You missed out on this!” at a duck. They all laughed at that and questioned why the man had three hot dogs in the first place.

She shrugged. “Maybe that duck was his lover and he was going to bring their duck children food but instead saw her cheating on him with another duck.”

“What the actual fuck, Alix?” Nino commented while he was bent over laughing.

It wasn’t Nino’s favorite park, but he did like going after school sometimes to listen to some tunes before heading home to his loud cousins. He thought it was ‘ _chill’_.

Marinette had only been there about twice since she preferred going to the one closer to her home, but did find it tranquil as well.

Adrien thought that the park was enjoyable. It was clean and ordered in a way that made it seem as if the fallen leaves fell there because they wanted to -because they had a choice. The trees were tall and it still smelled like morning dew even though it was the afternoon. He felt that his mom would’ve liked it.

He left that last part out, however.

They soon said their goodbyes to each other once Adrien got a text from Nathalie, notifying him that the Gorilla was in front of the park. They all walked with him to his car, Alix still skating. He thanked them for the invite and waved to all of them, smiling softly when he noticed Marinette waving back with her cheeks a pink tint.

"G-goodbye, Adrien!" She said.

"Bye, Marinette. See you guys at school!"

It was nice.

His friends were nice.

The car ride home was cold, empty, and silent as always, though Adrien didn’t find himself being affected by it as he normally had. It was Thursday, the sun was still out, and he just finished hanging out with people that for once weren't Nathalie and his bodyguard.

Adrien was happy.

 

* * *

 

It was around eight in the evening when Gabriel knocked on Adrien’s door. The teen was on his computer, typing up the beginning of his new chapter. He momentarily thought it was Nathalie bidding him a good night as she usually had. But, as soon as he heard his father’s voice, his eyes widened and he switched windows, going to some article he was reading for his homework earlier. He wasn’t sure where Plagg was, but he knew that he didn’t have time to search around. He trusted that the kwami found a decent hiding place. He usually had.

“Adrien.” The older man said, his voice monotone. Adrien turned his chair around and saw his father approaching him. His arms were behind him, his shoulders were back, and he was still wearing his suit while Adrien was hunched over in his pajamas. Gabriel was intimidating as usual and Adrien felt small in his presence already.

“Yes, father?” He fixed his posture quickly once he saw the man eyeing his shoulders.

“Do you remember Monsieur Fournier?”

Adrien scrunched up his eyebrows in concentration as he tried to familiarize the name in his head.

“He’s that photographer you hired for your spring line last year, right?”

Gabriel nodded.

“Yes, I wish to hire him again for the upcoming line. However, he is a busy man and not easy to employ.”

Adrien hummed at that. He now understood why his father came to speak with him in the first place. He was more of a pawn to the man than a son, so it was only natural that he wanted to use him yet again for another one of his business plans.

“I’ve already made a reservation for the four of us at Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée two weeks in advance. Next Wednesday you are going to get fitted for a new suit and Nathalie will make sure that Moreau comes by sometime next week to get your hair trimmed.”

“Yes, father. Who else will be joining us if I may ask?”

“His son, Nolan. He’s looking into becoming a model and would like to speak with you.”

Adrien hid his groan at the back of his throat.

“Alright.”

“He’s around your age I believe. You did say you wanted to make new friends, right?”

“Yes, father.”

Gabriel nodded silently at that before his eyes went swiftly to his son’s computer screens.

“What are you still doing up at this hour?”

“It’s eight, sir. And my homework.”

“Which subject?”

Adrien glanced back at his screens as well, having forgotten momentarily what the article was even on.

“Literature.”

“Are you almost finished?”

“Yes. Just adding in a few finishing touches to my essay.” He lied.

He wish he didn’t have to.

Gabriel nodded again before meeting his son’s eyes once more. Adrien noticed that his father had dark circles. The moonlight coming from his windows brought out the dark color right above his cheekbones.

“Try to be quick and get some rest.”

“Yes, father.”

He left the room after that. No ‘ _goodnight_ ’, no hug, or any other form of acknowledgement. He treated his son like he treated any other employee, and for a brief moment Adrien contemplated texting Nino about it. He wanted Nino’s optimism to point out _something_ positive in his situation. But he was tired and scared that it would be burdensome of him.  So instead he went back to his document and _wrote_. His fingers moved aimlessly across the keyboard, not making any sense of the scene he was _supposed_ to write.

Felix was supposed to be talking to a librarian about an akuma’s whereabouts. She was a small old woman that had almost become victim to an akuma’s spell. And Felix was supposed to listen, nod, and hide behind a dumpster to transform into Chat Noir.

But Adrien wasn’t in the mood to write out a fight scene at that moment. Or to write about Hawkmoth manipulating the mind of an innocent. So instead he wrote about Chat Noir sitting on a rooftop with Ladybug. They were talking about the moon and she started to laugh. Felix thought she was beautiful and laughed along with her.

Adrien deleted the whole five-page interaction soon after and went to sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

  **Chapter 10 of “The Empty Streets of Paris”**

 **\--by** _**FelineGood16** _ **** **on FanWorkz.net**

**Comments (284)**

**psi-hate:** _Hmm this chapter was a bit slow in my opinion? Maybe work on the pace. But other    than that I enjoyed it! Can’t wait for the next chapter!_

 **pandapuppies268:** _I think fics about real life people are kinda… creepy? But this is actually pretty good?? And I’m really into it??!!?_

 **sayanne:** _AHHH I LOVE LOVE HOW YOU DESCRIBE CHAT NOIR!!! He’s so mysterious and cute ahhhh!! And the way he talks about Ladybug xoxoxo He should kiss her next chapter totally ;D <3_

 **luciemiddleford:** All of you that read this crap are super weird. Ladybug and Chat Noir are PARTNERS! I bet if they knew about this shit they’d be absolutely disgusted.

 **seriouslynerd (Reply):** _@luciemiddleford If you don’t like this kind of stuff then why are you here?? No one really gives a damn dude lmao._

 **luciemiddleford (Reply):** @seriouslynerd Aww did I hurt your 12 year old feelings? No one cares. These are real life people and this whole fanfiction thing is fucking disrespecting them. The writing isn’t even good. Bye.

 **mythicalthings (Reply):** @luciemiddleford if you don’t like this “kind of stuff” then why did you even read it in the first place???? And FelineGood16  writes amazing. You’re probably just jealous that she writes waaaaaay better than you.

 **luciemiddleford (Reply):** @mythicalthings And why would I be jealous of some chick that fantasizes about Ladybug and Chat Noir?! HA! I’ve read children’s books more detailed than this. And I honestly really couldn’t care less anymore. Goodbye! Hope you guys have the time of your lives reading shit!

 **thecrazydragonlady:** Can’t wait for the next update!! Love how the story is going so far :D <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on me and my friend's blog on tumblr @fuckingchatnoir for future update info, art, and even a few sneak peeks! Comments and kudos are also much appreciated :D Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien blushes a lot and Gabriel's a douche

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry I took so long to update. Things have been a bit hectic for me lately but yeah! I really want to try updating more frequently so hopefully you guys will get the next chapter soon! :D And btw thank you all for your supportive comments and kudos. They mean a lot to me and keep me inspired to write this animal. <3

**Chapter 11 of “The Empty Streets of Paris”**

**\--by** _**FelineGood16** _ **** **on FanWorkz.net**

 

 

“You think you two can actually defeat Hawkmoth?” The akumatized victim laughs wickedly, his eyes never leaving the two heroes. His arms are still tied behind his back tightly by Ladybug’s lucky charmed slinky toy. He’s absolutely defenseless, yet still holds his confident bravado. Chat Noir wonders what kind of words the cynical man put into the brain-washed civilian’s mind that made him say such a thing.

Ladybug doesn’t reply, her eyebrows furrowing instead as she walks herself closer to him. She bends down to his level and he scowls at her. She continues to stare at him in observation, her eyes scanning his attire and weapons quickly.

“I think the akuma is in his hat.” She finally says, her comment directed at Felix.

He continues to stand right behind her, his arms crossed over his chest. He’s not liking the way the victim is looking at him now, his expression trying to intimidate the hero.

“Even if you beat me, Ladybug, Hawkmoth will return with another champion. He won’t stop until you both are defeated. Don’t you understand?!”

The blond turns his gaze to his Lady’s pigtails.

“I think it’s there too.” He finally responds.

He sees her nod without further acknowledgement before she snatches the man’s cap and rips it apart with her bare hands in a seemingly angry manner. The butterfly escapes and the heroine readies her yo-yo.

“You _will_ lose and Hawkmoth will prevail! Just you wa-“

“No more evil-doing for you little akuma!” She yells louder than usual, trying to drown out the sound of the other man.

“Evil will reign supreme and you children will peri-“

“Time to de-evilize!”

Before the man is able to get another word out, Ladybug finally encloses the butterfly in her yo-yo before releasing it back into the world purified.

They win yet again, though Felix feels his hands squeeze his own biceps tensely, the man’s words still stirring in his stomach.

* * *

 

Chat ran on his fours to catch up to his Lady, the akuma’s bright pink sweater in her left hand and her yo-yo in her right. She was breathless and tired, the blond noticed. This akuma wasn’t the easiest to capture. Not only were her powers difficult to dodge but her costume was also complex to the point where the two superheroes spent about half an hour just trying to figure out which item held that damned butterfly.

“Why did she have to knit?! Of all things!” Ladybug complained, looking back from time-to-time to make sure the akuma wasn’t too close behind.

“I know, right?! Hawkmoth must’ve really flipped a _stitch_ the last time we beat him.” 

She glanced over at him, giving him a quick scowl before continuing.

“If it’s not the sweater, what do you think it could be?” She asked, turning right and jumping over a car like it was nothing.

_She’s so awesome._

“Well, we already tried her needles and her mittens. Maybe those blue socks?”

She groaned and he kept looking at her as he ran, trying to read her mind.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Getting this _thing_ off her was already hard enough. I don’t even know how’d we able to get something off her _feet_.”

Her Miraculous beeped again and the victim started screaming from behind, citizens continuing to hide and panic all around them.

“Ladybug, sweetie! Stop running, I just want to KNIT YOU SOMETHING!”

Chat gulped.

The victim could knit around individuals in an accelerated manner, making them completely immobile due to the constraint of the garments. And both him and his partner did not have that sort of time to try to get out of that situation.

His limbs were starting to get a little _too_ tired from their sprint and he desperately need a breather. He could tell that Ladybug did too, so he finally took it upon himself to grab onto her wrist and pull her into the nearest alleyway he could find.

She tried to say something immediately, probably ask what his plan was, but she was breathing too heavily to do so, her hands on her knees with her yo-yo and the sweater dangling from her hold. She looked exhausted and Adrien knew that he didn’t look any better.

“What…what are-“ She began, her eyes squinted and directly on him.

He quickly put his hand over her mouth and lead them behind a dumpster nearby, forcing them to both kneel on the floor, cutting her off completely.

“She’s here.” He whispered, popping his head out slightly to see if he could see her.

Luckily, the woman didn’t see nor hear them and passed by the alleyway in ignorance.

He released his hand from his partner’s mouth and they both let their bodies slide down against the brick walls, Adrien wiping the sweat off his forehead.

Her earrings beeped again.

“My Lady, are you able to-“

She nodded slowly before taking a deep breath and ripping apart the atrocious looking sweater. Relieved laughter filled the air at the sight of the manipulated insect and the heroine got back up on her feet, dropping the remains of the garment on the floor.

She went through the whole purifying process and Adrien watched every last second of it in the silence of the empty alley. It was just the two of them there, and his stomach felt like it was fluttering. She looked completely disheveled. Strands of hair were slipping out from her scrunchies, her cheeks flushed from the heat and exercise, her bangs fell over her sparkling blue eyes, and damn, Adrien had never seen anyone more beautiful. He felt like his heart was going to leap out from his chest and he was so far gone he felt like he was floating.

Once the now whitened butterfly was released, she rapidly turned to look at him. He was still sat down on the ground so he got himself up.

“You still have it right?”

He nodded before going to the small right pocket on the upper part of his suit and unzipping it, taking out the small button that was used. It was red and polka-dotted and Chat wished he was able to keep it, but handed it to his Lady before dwelling on the thought any longer.

She gave him a small smile before she threw it in the air and yelled out her signature phrase.

Chat wished he had more time with the girl.

The day was saved once more and the two did their routine fist bump very quickly before that annoying beeping came about again. She had one spot left before she would transform back. Times like that always made Chat both hopeful and saddened.

Hopeful because his heart told him that maybe that day would finally be the day he found her out. But saddened because his mind would then proceed to remind him of the reality of the situation and the kind of hero the love of his life was.  

“I’m about to de-transform, so can you maybe talk to the victim for the both of us? I really have to go, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, not a problem. Your wish is my command, my Lady.”

“Much appreciated, Chaton.”

She saluted endearingly and began to step away from him, getting her yo-yo ready to jump away. But Chat was a pining fool and wanted to hear at least one more thing from her that day, so he took a deep breath and brought his right hand to his heart shyly.

“Ladybug, wait!”

She lowered her arms back to the sides of her body and turned back to look at him, cocking a questioning brow. Her blue eyes were wide and alert, and her fingers screamed impatience and hesitation as they formed into a fist.

“Patrol is still on this Wednesday, right?”

They always had patrol on a Wednesday every other week, and he knew that nothing was going to change that unless one of them traveled or was ill. However, he still wanted to hear her say it. He took it as a promise from her that she’d see him again.

Her shoulders eased for just a second.

“Oh, you just reminded me! I actually have a thing I have to go to that day so I can’t. Sunday I’ll be able to though.”

“A thing?” He asked.

Their patrols were usually late at night. What sort of event did she have at that hour?

“Uh yeah. I’m sorry, Chat. But I really have to go.”

He ducked his head solemnly.

“Is…is it another secret mission you won’t tell me about or is it personal?”

She didn’t respond and he glanced back up at her, her expression unreadable.

“I’ll see you Sunday.” She whispered before finally going off, not allowing her partner another word.

* * *

 

Adrien continued to stare down at his phone quietly in the car. It was almost time for the dinner with his father’s photographer and he was far from excited. He was dressed like some sort of trophy, the golden tie his father picked out practically yelling out his lack of independence. He wasn’t sure what to expect from this evening, how bored he was going to be. However, he knew that whatever he felt didn’t matter. He was there for his dad and had to present himself accordingly. And to make matters worse, Monsieur Fournier was bringing his son along as well. And if his offspring was going to be anything like the man, then Adrien knew he was going to have a very long and frustrating night ahead of him.

Though silent, the Gorilla seemed to understand his already sour mood and turned on the radio. His bodyguard wasn’t too fond of playing music in the car since he seemed to always want to keep his focus on their surroundings. However, when he did decide to blare out some tunes, Adrien automatically knew that the man wanted to reassure him in his own way. Tell him to stay positive and that the day is going to end at some point. He sighed and nodded in acknowledgment at that fact before reading the text he’d just received.

**From: DJ Lahiffe**

_Dude, if anything just text me the whole time. I’m free all night._

Adrien had been texting Nino for the last hour, his friend still attempting to lighten up the mood. Even though he still wasn’t _overjoyed_ with his current situation, the brunette’s messages did make him feel a tad better about everything. They – in a way- anchored his feet to the ground, reminding him that though his father wasn’t normal, he wasn’t normal, his situation wasn’t normal, his whole life in general wasn’t really normal, that Nino was a new normal in his life that also _happened_ to be his friend. So, it couldn’t all be _that_ bad.

**To: DJ Lahiffe**

_Wish I could, but I can’t. My dad would probably have my head if he saw me on my phone._

**From: DJ Lahiffe**

_Well maybe this Nolan kid won’t be that bad?_

Adrien found himself snorting at that, his few experiences with Nolan’s father beginning to play in his mind again like some horrible horror movie you can’t turn off.

**To: DJ Lahiffe**

_Maybe. Maybe not. His dad tripped a model once when she asked him directions to the bathroom._

**From: DJ Lahiffe**

_Bro, seriously??!!?? Okay, so he’s an ass. But that doesn’t mean his son is._

**To: DJ Lahiffe**

_I guess I’ll see. Almost at the restaurant. I’ll talk to you later?_

**From: DJ Lahiffe**

_Yeah, dude of course! Text me all the deets when you get out of there._

**From: DJ Lahiffe**

_Try to be chill. And if they act like jerks remember that it’s on ‘them’ and has nothing to do with you. They’ll be missing out._

**To: DJ Lahiffe**

_Bro, do you want me to start crying in this car right now?? Omg??!!??_

**To: DJ Lahiffe**

_And you wonder why you’re the mom of the squad_

**From: DJ Lahiffe**

_I take everything back. You’re a terrible friend and I hate you._

**From: DJ Lahiffe**

_I hope you have a good time._

**To: DJ Lahiffe**

_< 3 <3 <3 <3_

**From: DJ Lahiffe**

_SHUT IT._

Adrien arrived at the restaurant soon after, his hand unconsciously sliding into the inside pocket of his jacket to make sure Plagg was still there. He knew he was but he was damn nervous and needed a reminder that he wasn’t _truly_ going to be alone that night.

But of course, Plagg didn’t even flinch when he poked him, meaning that the small god was napping. And when Plagg napped, that meant that he would be in a deep slumber for _hours_ unless Adrien dangled camembert in front of his face. The kwami started to weigh like a small brick in his jacket the deeper into his sleep he got and Adrien immediately rolled his eyes and muttered an ‘of course’ before the Gorilla finally opened his car door for him.

Looked like he was completely on his own.

He met up with Gabriel at the entrance, posing for a few pictures with the man before the waiter at the front finally led them inside. His father was quiet, having only spared him a glance and a nod when they met eyes for the first time that evening. Gabriel seemed more serious than usual and Adrien found that his hands were beginning to sweat.

They were lead to a table that had more cloth than his own bedsheets and Adrien immediately started to drink his glass of water as soon as he sat down. Gabriel dismissed the waiter and checked both of his phones, his expression still the same.

Adrien wished the man would talk first. But he knew that he wouldn’t. So instead he cleared his throat.

“Father, has Monsieur Fournier arrived yet?”

Gabriel texted through his business phone with only his right hand, still not looking at his son.

“He’s running late. One of his clients took too much of his time.”

“Ah.” He replied awkwardly, his silverware seeming to be the most interesting and less frightening thing in the room.

“Adrien.”

His head snapped up on command.

“Yes?”

“Fournier told me that his son enjoys socializing and has many stories to tell.” the man was looking at him now and Adrien had been mentally praying that Nino may have made a good point. That maybe this Nolan guy wouldn’t be as bad as his father. That maybe he could even be a good kid. But his father’s eyes were telling him different and Adrien’s hands formed into fists on his lap, hidden by the overwhelming tablecloth.

“I see.” He whispered, a sigh lodged in his throat.

_So, don’t talk and just listen. Got it._

_Can’t wait._

They didn’t say anything else to each other until the two other men finally arrived, Adrien’s smile almost as forced as his father’s.

The greetings were abrupt and short, Adrien having noticed the unnecessary tightness of Nolan’s grip when they shook hands. The older boy’s blue eyes stared straight into Adrien’s as if it was honorable of him to do such a simple thing in the first place.

Adrien wanted to go home.

Fournier spoke first, making small talk with the two of them for a while before they dived into any kind of real conversation. And once they all finally ordered their meals, the four of them seemed to part into separate discussions. Fournier stuck with his father and Nolan turned his head to Adrien in almost an instant. The small table seemed divided, yet Adrien felt more surrounded than before.

He took another sip of his water as the brunette began to speak to him, nodding every once in a while, and shooting the kid a forced grin to be polite and to show him that he was listening. And he was, because that was just the kind of person Adrien was, but he wished he didn’t have to.  

“So, you see, Adrien, my hair used to be much lighter than this. But darker hair is back in style and if I want to become a model I have to follow along with the trends, you know?”

Adrien nodded, though he did not really understand what he was hearing. This was a topic Chloe would get into, and as much as the girl frustrated him at times, he still would much rather be in her company than this guy that was more materialistic than a child on Christmas.

“I wasn’t aware of that trend.” He responded.

Nolan’s eyes went straight to Adrien’s hair and he quickly covered his mouth before chuckling. It was one of the most annoying sounds Adrien had ever heard.

“Yeah, I can see that.”

Adrien almost rolled his eyes at his remark, but chuckled along instead when he felt his father’s gaze upon him. And that’s how most of the dinner went on. Nolan and his father talked and talked while inserting a few subtle insults here-and-there, and Adrien had to continue treating them with respect. He had to continue smiling even though he was getting more and more tempted to just walk out and head to Nino’s to rant and watch some movies together.

At least the food was good.

“Did you two see how reckless that spotted girl was the other day,” Fournier began, his sentence directed this time at _both_ him and his father.  They were still waiting for their third course to arrive and Adrien was feeling less hungry by the second. “Her mindset is absolutely juvenile.”

The blond felt his shoulders tense immediately, the atmosphere seeming to chill quite considerably in less than a second.

He was talking about Ladybug.

“Well, she does seem to be pretty young, father. I mean have you seen her hairstyle? She probably thinks she’s still ten.” Nolan added in, another pretentious chuckle escaping his mouth.

_God, they’re ignorant. They’re so freaking ignorant._

Adrien was frozen in place; his eyes bore into the photographer sitting in front of him. They were unknowingly provoking him and it felt absolutely agonizing having to bite his tongue.

“You’ve got that right. And did you see how she handled that last akuma, Gabriel? She practically was unclothing the damn woman in front of all of Paris. The woman has no shred of decency in her, yet we must entrust her to protect us? What has Paris become?!”

Adrien’s fingernails were digging into his palms.  

_She did all of that to find the akuma, to protect people like you._

Gabriel hummed in agreement and Adrien was getting angry. However, neither of them seemed to notice since they continued bashing the love of his life right to his face. If they only knew who they were complaining to.

“If it wasn’t for that power of hers then do you know how many of our buildings would be completely damaged? How much money Paris would have to invest to repair everything?!”

 _She did what she had to in order to save everyone. Not even_ one _citizen has died because of her._

“She’s incompetent.”

_She isn’t._

“And unreliable in my opinion.”

_Shut up. Shut up. Shut up._

He tried to calm himself, his mind reeling with what he should do. What he _could_ do. These two ungrateful individuals were insulting his Lady and he wanted to defend her, set them in their places. But his father also needed to hire this guy and he didn’t want to disappoint the man.

 _Man, Nino’s right. This guy_ is _a major ass._

He mentally cursed at his own hesitation, disappointed with himself. If Marinette could defend Chat Noir in front of the whole class without even a second thought, why couldn’t he find the courage to at least change the subject?

Damn, if Marinette were in his shoes he knew that she’d probably give them a piece of her mind, defending Ladybug as she deserved to be defended. He remembered that day at the café Marinette explained to him that she didn’t like when people didn’t receive the recognition they deserved. That she didn’t believe it to be just. And he couldn’t agree more. Especially at that moment.

 “I’m actually surprised that the Hawkmoth fellow hasn’t captured one of those bizarre pieces of jewelry yet. He seems to be more efficient than either one of those children I’ll tell you that much.”

Gabriel opened his mouth to reply, probably to agree with the man’s seemingly treasonous comment. But Adrien couldn’t stand by anymore. Not with a remark like that.

“She’s… saved our lives.” He whispered at first, his confidence burning his chest.

He couldn’t even look at his father, but he didn’t care at that moment. He was a hero. And heroes wouldn’t stand by and listen to that. It almost sounded like the man and his son were on Hawkmoth’s side. And if he allowed him to speak further on the matter he probably would admit that he was.

“Adrien-“ His father began, his voice calm but hinted an angry consequential promise.

“No, Gabriel. Let your boy explain himself. This conversation _is_ open to everyone in this table, right?”

Adrien’s hands were still hidden under the tablecloth and he was playing with his ring nervously. Fournier had a smug smile on his face that looked as if he just placed a bet that he knew he was going to win.

_What would Marinette do?_

_What would Chat Noir do?_

“Hawkmoth has tried to _kill_ people. He’s akumatized _children_ ,” He continued on, Fournier’s brown eyes seeming to darken under the chandelier’s intense light. “These victims are too powerful for the police to handle, so without her, we’d all be goners.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes.” He quickly responded, his next words seeming rather difficult to spill out from his lips since he knew they carried negative repercussions.  

“Just ask my father. A few months ago, Hawkmoth’s victim was after him, even made it passed our defense system in our home. But she saved his life, _our_ lives.”

Fournier stood silent. His smile was disappearing.

“So, you should be thankful.”

He finally glanced over at his father, and he immediately tensed at his expression. His mouth was in a guarded frown and his eyes were refusing to meet the blond.

He was in deep trouble.

Adrien gulped.

_Maybe I went a little too far?_

The table was silent for a few seconds before the waiter returned with their dishes. Adrien wasn’t feeling hungry anymore but ate anyway to fill the silence.

“That’s quite a son you have there, Gabriel.” Fournier finally said before stuffing a forkful of salad into his mouth, his voice drenched with sarcasm.

“Thank you.”  

* * *

 

 

Gabriel rode back home with him. The two sat in the backseat and Adrien was just waiting for the man to finally speak up. He was out of line and they both knew that he didn’t regret what he did.

Adrien sort of felt bad that the Gorilla was going to have to witness all of it. But then again, he always had to listen to their arguments that should’ve been private but never were.

“You disobeyed me.” The man finally began.

Adrien looked at him because he had to and saw his eyes burning into his. He knew that Plagg was awake in his pocket.

“Father, I-“

“I’m not done speaking.” His voice was so monotone and emotionless when he was angry with the blond, and that’s what always made it that much more frightening.

“I asked you to behave. To just eat and listen. But you just _had_ to make a scene. We were there on business, Adrien. Do you believe that what you did was professional behavior?”

He knew his father had a point there, but he also knew that Fournier and his son’s behavior weren’t acceptable either. And that’s what was starting to piss him off. He was the only one getting scolded.

However, he still bowed his head slightly and spoke a defeated and soft “No.” that was barely audible in the silence of the car.

“I want you to email him an apology for your outburst. Tell him that you were feeling ill and that it was clouding your judgement.”

“But I wasn’t-“

“And you will do so by tomorrow night. Do I make myself clear?”

They were almost home and Adrien wanted to hide.

“Yes.”

Gabriel nodded.

Adrien was hurt, angry, and completely vulnerable. However, he decided to bare himself once again to the man, his voice hesitant.

“Father,” He muttered. “Do you think what he said was right? Did you really agree with him?”

“This isn’t about right or wrong or about what I think. This is about you being disobedient and acting selfishly. Do you know how your behavior made _me_ look?”

The teen didn’t say anything.

“I looked as if I had no control over my own child. That I allow you _and_ raised you to act so recklessly. What an embarrassment of a night this was.”

The car finally halted and the sounds of the gates opening made the whole conversation seem much more routine and casual then it actually was. Plagg started to wiggle slightly in place, letting him know that he was there. Or to possibly notify him that he was hungry, Adrien didn’t really care at that moment.

“Of course. My apologies, sir.”

The teen didn’t give his bodyguard any time to open his door. He opened it himself and walked as quickly as he could to the front of his home, Nathalie ringing him in and allowing the front doors to automatically open.  

He ran to his room with no one following behind.

He quickly shut his room door behind him and went to his bed, sitting at the edge with his hands immediately going to his hair, his head ducked in anger and shame. He felt Plagg float out from his pocket but still didn’t look at him, his eyes closed.

“Kid-“

“Didn’t you hear what they said in the restaurant, Plagg?! Was I really in the wrong for standing up for _her_ , for Paris?”

He didn’t really want an answer, his mind just wanting to empty out his thoughts into the void so everything felt less constricting. And Plagg understood that. The kwami didn’t respond and instead rested on his shoulder.

Adrien’s hands were covering his face now and he was tearing up from frustration; He hated it, but he also couldn’t help what he was feeling. He wanted to talk to someone, spill what he felt, but he couldn’t. Plagg would listen, yes. But his friend was never good at really consoling him in times like that and Adrien needed someone to brighten up the mood or at least try.

A part of him wanted to text Nino since his friend was always so positive and charismatic, but it was late and he didn’t want to burden him with the news. When Adrien was down, Nino would get down too and he didn’t like seeing the brunette with a frown on his face. His next thought was Chloe. His childhood friend was tough and harsh, he admitted, but if he told her about everything she’d back up Adrien and probably understand why he defended ladybug in the first place. That would make him feel better. But, she’d most likely ask her father to call Fournier the next day and get him fired or something equally as irrational and that would make matters much worse.

He missed his mom.

He sniffled before he finally rubbed his tired eyes and sat himself up.

“Your cheese should be by the computers, buddy.” He whispered, scratching the top of the god’s head gently to signal him to go on and eat. He wanted to take off his jacket anyway. It was freezing outside and the sprinkling rain from earlier wet his attire slightly. If he was going to pity himself he might as well do it in sweats. Besides, the weather seemed to be picking up more and more since he started hearing thunder, so being in comfortable clothing would probably be much warmer for him. Especially since two of his windows were a tad open and he was too lazy to close them.

He got changed as the kwami began to eat silently beside his desktops. The abrupt sound of the water droplets hitting his window made his limbs feel sleepy and Adrien wondered if his father was still as riled up as he was about the whole situation. What would the man say if he went up to his room to talk to him?

Was he still mad?

Adrien sighed, he probably was.

“Kid, words keeping popping up on those things. I think you should check it out.” Plagg suddenly mumbled before swallowing another piece of camembert.

The blond glanced over at his left to see how his screens were lit up with several email notifications at the bottom. He forgot to turn off his computers before he left.

“Hmm. I think they’re comments for my last chapter.” He stated aloud, mostly to himself.

He bent down slightly once he reached the computers, refusing to sit down since he wanted to take just a brief peek at the several notifications, his eyes skimming them.

“There’s a comment thread.”

“A _what_?”

His eyes squinted and his brows furrowed as he began to read all the comments and replies from a conversation that a few of his readers were having on his chapter. His chest was beginning to hurt again at the negative possibilities and he didn’t notice that he held his breath.

**Chapter 11 of “The Empty Streets of Paris”**

**\--by** _**FelineGood16** _ **** **on FanWorkz.net**

**Comments (147)**

**marvelluv92:** _omg!!! I seriously thought Chat Noir was going to get hurt in this chap?!!?? I mean      I think it would’ve been angsty ;D but also I liked how realistic the fight was! Can’t wait for the next update ;P_

 **book_fangirl:** _Saw that this fic outranked ‘Late Night Hour’ and my expectations were pretty high but yeah lmao._

 **Chat-Noir_Me0w (Reply):** _@book_fangirl But yeah what?_

 **book_fangirl (Reply):** _@Chat-Noir_Me0w I don’t really see why it’s ranked higher than           ‘Late Night Hour’. I mean FrenchBeauty95 writes like an actual published author and this fic is just slow? And I’ve seen a lot of mistakes. Though small but yeah it bothers me lmao._

 **TulipPrincessOfNYC87 (Reply):** _@book_fangirl  It’s fanfic. It’s doesn’t have to be perfect. Besides, it seems like FelineGood16 doesn’t have a beta reader. She probably just misses a few things when she proofreads. Lmao.~_

 **Chat-Noir_Me0w (Reply):** _@book_fangirl I see what you mean. I mean by chapter 11 in ‘Late Night Hour’ Felix had already confessed. And the plot does seem a bit more developed… but I like this fic too._

 **book_fangirl (Reply):** _@TulipPrincessOfNYC87, @Chat-Noir_Me0w Even if she had a beta it still wouldn’t have blown my mind. I’ve read fics with less than a thousand reads that are better. Just saying that I don’t really get the hype. And yeah, it is waaay more developed. I think I’m going to re-read it right now actually :-)_

Adrien’s lips were parted as he reread the thread, his heart feeling battered. He wasn’t good enough for his father today. And it looked like his own writing wasn’t good enough either. He didn’t want to cry, he didn’t want to focus on what was happening, so before he knew it he was already saying “Claws out.” after he finally inhaled a heavy breath.  

He heard Plagg make a startled noise, but he didn’t give the kwami time to say much more. He was sad, angry, frustrated, and all his emotions were beginning to feel irrepressible. Once he felt his face finally concealed behind his mask, he made his way to one of the open windows and pushed it further with his gloved hand. His baton was now in his grip and he extended it so and felt himself fly and jump throughout the night sky.

Thankfully, it was pouring heavily so the streets were practically empty besides the few tourists that were seemingly trying to look for their hotel. He was all alone by his own will and he took advantage of that fact. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, testing the power of his baton by extending it as long as he could to give him higher jumps and more momentum. He wanted to get closer to the rain, enjoyed the heat that his adrenaline was giving his body. He kept going until he felt out of breath, only stopping to inhale, and jumping back into action immediately after.  

When he thought of his dad he jumped. When he thought of his story he ran. When he thought of his mother he landed. And so, went the passing minutes, Adrien having been no longer aware of the time or how long he’d been out. He finally rested for a while on the roof of some building he didn’t care too much to think about. He laid flat on his back, his body resting in a puddle that was formed by the ongoing storm. He was soaked to the bone and his hair strands were blocking his eyes.  

He moved them aside lazily and felt his chest rising up and falling along with his rapid breaths. He was exhausted, freezing, and even a little hungry, but he still refused to go back home. He wouldn’t have minded resting on that rooftop for a while longer but he knew that he was going to get sick and began to feel guilty about taking advantage of Plagg the way he had.

He got up and moved again, though much slower than before. The events of that night were still in his mind and he found that rather annoying. The teen wondered if Ladybug had days like that, where she transformed to get away from everything for a while.  

Was her home as empty as his?

He really hoped it wasn’t.

Chat was shivering now, _horribly_ , and he knew that he needed to find shelter quickly before he froze. The reasonable part of him was yelling at him to just go home, shower, and sleep in his comfortable bed. But the other part, the _hurt_ one, was still pulling him to god knows where and he couldn’t help but follow along. That part promised him quick relief and he needed that more than any blanket.

However, when he arrived at Marinette’s balcony he began to question his own judgment.

_Why am I here?_

Even though his classmate was nowhere near her balcony, he still hid in the shadows, his arms wrapped around himself. He wanted to question his choices, form a plan as to what he would even say to Marinette if she was awake and would even let him in. The girl already knew about his fanfiction, what if she gave him that reassuring Marinette smile and he spilled details that he shouldn’t? It would be too personal, too risky, and too burdensome. But he was so cold and Marinette’s home was cozy and not his own. And besides, Marinette didn’t know he was Adrien or really anything about him. So maybe she wouldn’t press as much and would let him lay on her chaise again as she spoke to him about _anything_. Marinette’s voice was sweet and soothing and everything she said was important, so would it really be that bad to let himself have that for a while?

He sighed.

Probably, but he didn’t care anymore so he finally walked to the trapdoor and tapped it with the end of his baton. He hoped that she’d lend him a blanket.

He hoped that she’d welcome him in.

After a few seconds, he saw a light appear beneath the glass and he bit his bottom lip in a guilty manner. He forgot momentarily that sleep was an actual thing and that Marinette was probably in the middle of it before he bothered her.

_Damn it._

However, before he could even think of what to do, the door opened and Chat got a glimpse of the girl’s wrist and alerted gaze. She didn’t say anything. She simply scanned him up and down before motioning him to come in and releasing the glass slowly to enter her room again.

He smiled sheepishly at that before nodding to himself and following along. The sudden heat from her home embraced him like a thick sweater once he entered. He hummed in comfort and made sure to close the door correctly before lowering himself to her floor with his baton, trying his best to miss her bed so he wouldn’t get anything drenched.

Marinette stood with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes narrowed as they attempted to adjust to the sudden lighting of the room. She was most definitely asleep and he most definitely had woken her up.   

She did not look pleased whatsoever, though she remained quiet. She was awaiting an explanation.

He placed his baton on his back and cringed once he noticed the small puddle forming under his feet.

“It was um raining.” He started, wanting to slap himself immediately at his greeting.

She rose an eyebrow before yawning loudly, her eyes even closing along with the exaggerated action.

He sighed.

“I’m sorry. I honestly don’t know why I’m here. I didn’t mean to wake you but I was out and cold and-“

He was no longer looking at her and his right hand was rubbing up and down his left bicep nervously.

“Crap, I’m so sorry. I’ll go now. This was stupid. I’m stupid. I-“

“Is there an akuma? Are you hurt?”

Her voice sounded tired yet alert all at the same time. She was scanning him again with her eyes but this time to check for any injuries that he possibly could’ve gotten. He should’ve gone home. He felt that his classmate was going to find it ridiculous that he came to see her just because he was lonely. Maybe even find him pathetic.

He shook his head and embraced himself to warm his body as much as he could, Marinette’s gaze following the movement before she yawned once more and walked herself over to her sink, opening one of the drawers on the side of it to grab a few towels.

Adrien was shivering and suddenly felt embarrassed about how vulnerable and needy he probably looked at that moment. Chat Noir, the superhero of Paris, went to a civilian’s house in the middle of the night for a towel and company.

His cheeks reddened shamefully and he glanced down at his boots, scolding himself mentally yet again for the water he brought in. His father was right, this was an embarrassment of a night.

And it was all his fault.

“Here, if you need another let me know.”

The blond suddenly saw three medium-sized folded towels in his view, being offered by his most generous friend.

He stared at them for a while before he grabbed them slowly, still avoiding the girl’s eyes.

He began to dry himself with each towel, wiping off as much freezing moisture as he could. He made sure to be careful around his claws since he didn’t want to tear any of the towels accidentally. The blue-eyed girl started to snatch each towel from his hand as he finished, however, leaving him with the last one since he was just burying his face in it and refused to let it go.

He couldn’t see Marinette, but he could feel her presence still in front of him. He knew she was watching him but he still didn’t know what she was thinking and wasn’t sure if he even wanted to. She was probably wondering why the blond was smothering himself in a towel like a total idiot. And he probably should start talking to explain himself, but he found that he couldn’t move. His cheeks were still burning.

“Chat, what happened?” She whispered softly instead, her gentle tone having taken the other teen off guard.

His shoulders tensed and he mumbled something into the towel in response, gripping it tighter.

“What? I didn’t understand that. Lift your head up please.”

He sighed and rubbed at his eyes a little more before slowly obliging, pulling the towel away from his face and looking down at the shorter girl. She didn’t look angry or pitying, but more concerned and exhausted. Like she was using half of her energy to stay awake and the other half to form expressions and speak so he was aware that she was serious.

His face was probably still red from humiliation, but Marinette didn’t say anything about it because she was just that freaking wonderful. And oh god why did he have to wake his friend for this? He was the most selfish hero ever. Ladybug wouldn’t do this. Not even the Chat Noir in his story would do this.

“Nothing. I’m sorry for waking you. I’ll… I’ll go.”

He forced an appreciative smile before he started to turn around, towel still in hand. However, he was stopped almost instantly by Marinette’s sudden grip on his wrist.

“Hey, you’re not going anywhere right now. Like you said, you woke me up. So, I need answers.”

“I’m fine,” He turned back around to face her again, her hold still not releasing. “I don’t know why I came. I just did, it’s fine. I’m fine.”

He wasn’t and sadly enough, Marinette knew that too.

“So, this isn’t because of any akuma, right?”

“No. I’m telling you it’s nothing.”

“Did um Ladybug say something to you?”

“No. No. Just – Marinette, please let go of me.”

She did, but her searching expression kept him still.

“It’s something personal then. Something happened in your civilian life.”

He didn’t respond to that and she nodded to herself. Neither of them were sure what to say or do next. He wasn’t allowed to talk about his civilian life with anyone, no matter the circumstance. And even if he could, he didn’t think he’d ever have to heart to tell anyone, let alone Marinette, about his issues. They were too much in his opinion, and would probably make her think differently of him.

He opened his mouth, however, wanting to fill the silence in some way. Wanting to talk about _something_.

“I updated my story a few days ago.”

She yawned. “Yeah, I saw.”

“There um were a few comments. Bad ones.”

He couldn’t talk about his father, that’s for sure. But Marinette knew about his fanfiction, and he found it relieving that he was able to at least talk about that.

“Oh?”

He nodded solemnly. She leaned her body more on her left, her arms crossed over her chest again with the towels now on the ground beside her feet. She was wearing socks this time. 

“What’d they say?”

He scratched the back of his head timidly and shivered a little at the feel of leftover rain water. He had missed some when drying his hair minutes prior. He dried it a bit more with the towel that was still in his hand and fluffed his hair up in the process.

He was still cold and he shrugged.

“They aren’t sure why it has so many views and kept comparing it to this other fanfiction.”

“And they commented this _on_ your story?”

He nodded and she rolled her eyes.

“Those people are jerks.”

He shrugged again and kept scrunching up the towel in his hands.

“They have a right to their own opinion.”

“True. But there’s also a time and a place for everything,” she yawned. “And that wasn’t right of them to complain so openly like that on your story, especially since they knew that you’d see it.”

Marinette looked very bothered by the issue, and it made Adrien feel a bit better knowing that she was taking it seriously even though it was just fanfiction.  It made him feel less stupid for feeling sad about it in the first place.

He didn’t know how to respond so he just hummed instead, his body beginning to shiver a little. His suit was still wet and since he couldn’t just take it off and change into something warmer it was bothering him and starting to get rather uncomfortable. The other teen seemed to realize this since she finally grabbed the towel from his hands along with the ones on the floor and walked herself over to her sink once more. Chat still didn’t move from his place but he watched as she left them on the counter and went over to her closet, opening the doors and pulling out a garment that looked familiar.

It was large and a gray color that was a tad lighter than his suit.

“Put this on, it’ll keep you warm.”

It was the over-sized hoodie she had on the last time. 

He shook his head.

“You’ve already done so much. I couldn’t-“

“Come on. You can’t protect Paris with a cold, now can you?”

His hand reached out for just a moment before stopping. He looked up at her face and saw a small reassuring smile playing on her lips, her eyes sparkling in the corners. 

_Marinette is too pure for this world._

He was smiling now, a tad quirk of his lip.

“Thank you.” He whispered before finally grabbing the garment and putting it on. It was almost as large on him as it was on her when she had worn it. The sleeves weren’t passed his hands, but they did reach down to the very tips of his fingers. And the bottom reached down to his mid-thigh. He wasn’t sure why Marinette owned this hoodie in such a big size, but it was very comfortable and heated so he didn’t question it. However, she answered him anyway since she saw that he kept examining it once it was on him.

“It was my dad’s. But it didn’t fit him anymore so he let me have it.”

“It’s super cozy.”

She giggled at his astonishment.

“It is.”

They finally sat down in their usual spots and talked for a while, Adrien almost forgetting what had happened only a few hours before with his father. Marinette was so _alive_ when she spoke, even when she looked tired as hell. Adrien found that amazing. They were simply discussing the terrible weather that night, and usually a simple topic like that would make him feel a bit bored after a while. But Marinette was so animated with her expressions and hand motions that she made rain seem like the most fascinating thing in the world.

Kind of like Ladybug.

However, the happy feeling faded once Marinette brought up his story again and he started to feel small.

“So, what story where they comparing yours to anyway if you don’t mind me asking?”

“This one called _Late Night Hour_. It was one of the most popular ones, but um my story has more reads now and that’s why they got mad.”

“Well, I don’t see why. You deserve those reads.”

He shrugged.

“I’m new at this whole writing thing. So, I know that my story probably has a lot of mistakes.”

“A lot of mistakes?”

“Yeah,” He sighed, not really wanting to talk about it anymore since he’d much rather talk to Marinette about insignificant things that made him smile and forget like weather and over-sized hoodies. “Grammar wise, plot wise, et cetera.”

“It seems fine to me.”

Chat snorted.

“I thought you didn’t like it?”

“Like I said before, fanfiction isn’t my thing. But that doesn’t mean your story isn’t well-written.”

He felt a bit of pride fill up his chest at her compliment, his cheeks flushing slightly as he tried to suppress a smile.

“Thanks.”

She nodded.

“I actually started reading the update today before I went to bed. Was planning to finish it in the morning. Pretty good so far.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the tab’s still open actually. Since I’m awake I might as well finish it now.”

_Wait. What?!_

They both got up at the same time, though Chat in a more urgent-like manner, his eyes wide.

“You’re gonna finish it _now_?!”

“Yeah, why not?”

“With _me_ in the room?”

“Uh yeah,” She chuckled at his flustered appearance. “This way I can also prove to you that those people were just jerks and that your plot is just fine.”

She walked passed him to reach her computer and his eyes followed her movement, his mouth now hung open with his complexion red as ever.

“Marinette! You s-should sleep! Yeah, worry about this later!”

Did Adrien want his classmate to read his chapter? Of course. But he wanted her to read it when he was gone and she was alone, and there was no pressure on him. Having her read it right in front of him would be almost overwhelming and just so _raw_. He’d see her reactions first-hand. He would be able to tell what she liked, what she didn’t like by just her facial features and the boy would feel like he was completely naked right before her eyes.

What if she hated it and didn’t even react one bit because it was just that _boring_? The chapter was around five-thousand words long. What would he even do in that silence for that amount of time? It would be too nerve-racking.

And besides, Adrien already felt terrible enough for waking her in the first place. He didn’t want to take up her whole night.

“I’ll be fine.” 

She went back to drag her rolling chair over to the screens, sitting herself down and moving her mouse around to brighten the screen again. She was right when she told him that she was reading it only a few hours ago. His story immediately popped up and he sat back down on the chaise, his claws digging into the hoodie material covering his palms nervously.

_Oh my god. OH MY GOD._

He knew that this was probably karma for having stormed out of his room before Plagg could even finish his cheese. Though, the kwami was busy at the moment, he knew that he could hear and see everything that was happening. Adrien was so going to get an earful later.

“Marinette, really I-“

“ _Shhhhh_. I’m trying to read.”

Chat buried his face in his hands and groaned, refusing to move from his spot so he could only see the back of Marinette’s head if he were to look up at her.

She was reading, she was actually freaking finishing the chapter and the blond was dying internally in more ways than one. He didn’t even know what part she was on and what parts she’d already read. Would she even think the akuma was original? Maybe he should’ve added more detail to his costume.

The room grew silent for a few minutes, the only sounds being the now light rain hitting Marinette’s window and the girl’s several yawns. Adrien felt bad, he honestly did. But he couldn’t do anything. Marinette was determined to finish this chapter and wouldn’t let anyone stop her.

And the fact that he admired that quality about her was frustrating him even more.

She started to make a few comments here-in-there as she read, allowing the boy to engage in the reading along with her. Possibly to make him more comfortable about the whole thing. And at first it wasn’t really helping his nerves at all, but then she started chuckling at a few jokes and complimenting small sentences and Adrien went from avoiding her gaze completely to having his whole focus on her. He even eventually walked over to her and sat on the floor beside her feet, enjoying her company and the way her eyebrows would knit together in concentration when she was reading the fight scene. She was getting into it and Chat found that fascinating.

And slightly cute but he immediately ignored that thought as soon as it entered his mind.

Time went by and before he knew it, she was done and looking down at him with a small smile and a satisfied nod.

He could’ve cried he was so relieved.

“It was alright?”

“Yeah. That akuma was really intense. And I enjoyed reading the fight sequence. There were a few grammar mistakes but those could be easily fixed.”

“Oh, really? Where?”

He stood up with a soft smile on his face, standing right next to the girl when he was on both feet. Marinette scrolled up and down through the story pointing out a few errors and explaining things that Adrien jotted down in his mind to change later.

Marinette was so kind and he wished he was closer to the girl as Adrien so he could thank her properly for everything she’d done for him the past couple of weeks by buying her lunch or really anything that would show his appreciation. But he couldn’t so he instead thanked her as properly and as genuinely as he could as he got ready to leave moments later.

“Marinette, thank you honestly so much for everything. I really appreciate this.”

They were by her circular window, Marinette having opened it for him to leave. It stopped raining and Adrien was feeling both refreshed and tired at the same time. He wouldn’t have minded staying longer, but he didn’t want to overstay his welcome and he felt that Plagg would kill him if he had to hold the transformation much longer.

“No problem.” She responded before yawning.

“Get some sleep, okay?”

She nodded.

“You too. And also, before you go,” Her hands clasped together and she swung them a bit, her eyes on them for a few seconds before she met his gaze once more. “Do you have anyone you can talk to about what happened?”

The small smile he had faded and he rose an eyebrow in confusion.

“About what happened? With my story or-“

She shook her head, “No, with what really happened. The reason you came tonight.”

Oh yeah, he’d almost forgotten about what happened with his father. He was going to have to return now and write that damn email. And pretend as if nothing happened the next time he’d see him. Which probably wouldn’t be for a few days knowing how the man was busy.

He forced a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine, princess.”

“You can come back you know.”

He scrunched up his eyebrows and felt the smile fall.

She cleared her throat and squeezed her hands before continuing, her voice hesitant.

“If you ever need a critique or some editing on your chapter or…you just want to talk, as vague as you want, you can.”

He honestly didn’t know what to respond. His heart was too busy clenching to help him out and his words were stuck in his throat.

She wouldn’t mind if he came back. 

Holy shit.

“I um,” this time _he_ cleared his throat. “I-I’d like that. Thank you.”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah.”

He was smiling genuinely now since he couldn’t help it and she mirrored his expression.

“Goodnight, Chat Noir.”

“Goodnight.”

With one final wave, he brought out his staff and extended it, jumping himself out of his friend’s home and into the night once more. He was already half way to his house when he realized that he was still wearing her hoodie.

He smiled.

Looked like he was going to have to return it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trouble in paradise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys for the late update! I've had to write so many papers for my classes recently that I was just too tired to write even for fun. Hopefully I can update faster! Thank you all for the kudos and comments <3 They make my day and yeah! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Made it extra lengthy....and angsty ;) Enjoy!  
> Also: I know season 2 started but I'm still sticking to my plan for my story. Meaning that season 2 can reveal something about their powers or about upgrades and etc., but I'm not going to be writing according to that or change anything about my story. So please do not comment about something not being according to canon. I am aware of that, but I'm still not going to alter anything. Thanks!

Adrien returned her hoodie two days later, it was inevitable.  He wanted to talk to her again. As he began to think about their last encounter, the night after, he realized that she _possibly_ wanted to talk to him again as well. Over the past few months he had noticed that Marinette was a very responsible and aware individual. She wouldn’t have allowed him to simply leave with her hoodie unless there was a reason behind it.  

And Adrien liked to believe that the reason was to see him again.

And even though he never got a solid answer, she didn’t look that shocked the next time she saw him and even offered him a hot chocolate before they fell into simple conversation. So, he guessed that it meant that she was at least _okay_ with him returning, whether she intended for him to do so or not.  

He didn’t visit every day of course since they both had lives and that would’ve been pretty weird, but when he would visit she was always welcoming and kind and they would talk about casual things the same way close friends would when talking about their weekends while walking to class together on a Monday morning. It was all so nice. Marinette was so nice. And even though he wasn’t exactly opening up to her about personal matters or discussing his story as she had offered previously, she never brought that up and looked happy to just talk to him about things like food and a cat that followed him for four blocks straight one day.  

His visits would’ve been considered even _routine_ if he had an actual set day of the week for them. However, due to his schedule, some days he would be too exhausted to visit whether it’d be because of his schoolwork, job, or hero duties. And Marinette seemed to understand that since she never questioned his timing. She’d usually just roll with his spontaneous visits and maybe tell him that he’d have to leave within an hour if she was too tired or had to wake up early the following day. And he’d nod in understanding, and they’d talk. And that’s how things went for a while until one Friday night.

It was almost midnight, Plagg was watching some documentary on aliens and criticizing it as usual, and Adrien was trying to write his next chapter. And by trying he meant as in attempting to do so but failing. He had written two paragraphs already that were introducing the new setting that Felix was in. However, Adrien felt that it was getting too lengthy. Half of the sentences were just one long description on the way the sunlight was shining through a window, highlighting the blue in Bridgette’s eyes. And he felt himself groan after rereading the lines for a while.

The opening scene was supposed to be romantic, yes. But he also didn’t want to write Felix as some cliché male protagonist that didn’t pay attention to his love interest because he was too distracted by their eyes.

Besides, now that he was thinking about it, FrenchBeauty95 had written something similar a few chapters ago.

_Dammit._

In frustration, he highlighted everything with his mouse and deleted his words, staring at the three blank white documents soon after in dramatic agony.

He knew what he wanted to write in that chapter. From the fight sequences to Felix’s wonderful puns, he knew what was going to happen.

However, he didn’t know how to actually put it into words. And that was slowly killing him from the inside out.

He fell back into his seat and rolled himself away from the screens, his hands rubbing at his eyes so they had something to do. Yet another loud groan released from his lips and Plagg shushed him immediately.

“Plagg, I think I have writer’s block.”

“No, I think you’re just over-dramatic. I’m trying to listen.”

“You don’t even believe in aliens.”

“I don’t, but this human does, and his argument is hilarious.”

Adrien lowered his hands down and got up from his seat, walking himself over to the couch to be closer to his friend.

At least that’s what he tried telling himself when his mind was telling him that he was procrastinating.

_I just want to have a quick conversation with him, and then I’ll get back to writing._

He placed his hands on the back of the couch, tempted to lean himself against it to rest for a while even though he’d been sitting down for almost an hour prior.

His eyes flickered to the screen and then back at Plagg for a few minutes, the silence between them comfortable. The program was interesting to say the least. Even though the narrator was a bit over-excited, it was still fascinating.

“How do you not believe in them? There’s so much evidence.” Adrien said.

Plagg responded but still did not turn to look back at him. Instead he stuffed a piece of cheese in his mouth and Adrien scrunched up his nose in disgust at the smell.

“You’re telling me that a world can survive without cheese?!”

Adrien snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Yes, Plagg. Is that really your counter argument?”

Plagg didn’t say anything.

“And anyways, how do you know that they don’t have cheese? Maybe they have some sort of space cheese that’s only available on their planet. Maybe it’s even better than Camembert.”

That got the god to finally look at him. He even floated to get close to the teen’s face, his small breaths tickling the teen’s nose.

“Nothing is better than Camembert.”

Adrien chuckled, “Yeah, of course. Whatever you say.”

The kwami nodded seriously.

“Why are you talking to me anyway? Don’t you have to form words on those contraptions or whatever to impress pigtails?”

“You mean _write_ my story on my _computers?_ Why, yes. But I was just taking a break,” He turned his head to the side slightly and crossed his arms over his chest. A light pink dusted his cheeks. “And I’m not writing it to impress Marinette.”

Why did it feel like he was lying?

“Yeah, sure. _Anyway_ , what were you complaining about earlier?”

Plagg was no longer interested in the documentary, and completely ignored the television. So, Adrien leaned himself over the back of the couch to grab the remote from the cushion to turn it off. If he left it on all night again his dad would probably lecture him, and he wasn’t ever in the mood for that.

He sighed.

“I promised my readers a new chapter by _tomorrow_ and I still have no clue how to write it.”

“All you gotta do is press those box letters that form words and make sentences. You told me yourself? I thought you knew.”

“Plagg, I didn’t mean that literally. I meant that I have the story in my head, but I don’t know how to introduce it, how to describe the actual scenes the way I imagined it, or how to make the body language in some parts. And I should include all the senses in my writing, but I don’t find it necessary to write about scent in this chapter? But also, this writing website said-“

“Kid, you lost me at Plagg.”

Adrien scowled.

“Why don’t you just ask Pigtails for help again? Didn’t she offer that one time?”

“I already saw her on Wednesday. I can’t just go again. And besides,” The teen began to rub the back of his neck timidly. “What if she offered that night just to make me feel better?”

Plagg tilted his head in confusion.

“Um yes? That seems to be the reason. And?”

Adrien groaned.

“That would mean that she said it to be nice but didn’t actually mean it, Plagg!”

“If she didn’t mean it then why would she say it? You’re overthinking this.”

“I am not- “Adrien groaned once more and slid his hand into the right pocket of his sweats. “You just don’t understand.”

“Obviously. You humans make everything too complicated. So, are we going or not?”

Adrien tried to scowl at him, but instead he nibbled lightly on his bottom lip in thought - Plagg floated over to his left shoulder to rest himself on it as he awaited his friend’s answer.

“You really think she meant it?” Adrien asked.

Plagg sighed, nuzzling his face into Adrien’s cotton shirt.

“She hasn’t stopped you from coming has she?”

“No but- “

“Then that means for some odd reason she finds your company enjoyable.”

Adrien didn’t respond so the small god nodded, and Adrien felt it on his shoulder.

“Yeah, kid.”

Adrien smiled to himself and nodded back.

“Okay then, claws out!”

* * *

 

There were a few people out that night, so it took Adrien a bit longer than usual to get to Marinette’s charming home. Not that he really minded. The clouds that barely hid the moon made it look more mysterious and bright, Adrien having enjoyed the calming and enchanting atmosphere. He also figured out where he wanted his next fight sequence to take place. While hiding from tourists he spotted the side of an abandoned building with its entirety covered with graffiti.  

He thought it would make the fight look even cooler.

Once he finally arrived at his friend’s balcony, he noticed how the light in her room was on through the trap-door near that recognizable deck chair. He cleared his throat before he walked up to it and gave it a few knocks with his extended baton. His back was straightened, his shoulders were back, and his teeth were revealed through his usual welcoming smirk as he leaned himself against his baton, waiting for his friend to finally come up.

He heard her coming closer and then the door opened, revealing her bare freckled wrists and painted nails.

“Good evening, _Puuuurincess_.” He whispered.

He didn’t see her roll her eyes, but he could tell that she did by the tone of her voice.

“Come on in.”

He entered and took himself to her chaise in what seemed like less than a minute, the action seeming almost routine now. She walked over to her desk, her desktop on and lit up with an opened document. Chat noticed that her hair was down again, and she was wearing that familiar over-sized hoodie. He smiled softly.

“Give me a second. I’m almost done with this.”

“No worries, take your time.”

He heard her fingers tap rapidly against the keyboard. Her thoughts seemed like they were racing quickly in her head like wind or breathing. Chat found it oddly relaxing and rested himself down against the chaise, staring up at the ceiling as he awaited. Marinette was a fast typer.

“Alrighty,” He turned his head to look at her, and saw a small satisfied smile playing on her lips. Whatever she just finished writing, she looked to be proud of it and of herself. She swiveled her body in her chair over to the hero and placed her feet on the chaise right beside his knees, leaning her body back against her chair. Her hands were rested on her thighs, clasped together like she was preparing herself for a meeting.

He almost snorted at that.

“So, what’s up?” She began.

He rose an eyebrow and smiled.

“What were you writing back there that made you so happy? Did a certain talented and _fan-cat-stic_ hero actually inspire a certain sophisticated maiden to start her own fanfiction?”

Her eyes narrowed, and she flicked his forehead gently.

“That will never happen, especially not by someone that uses horrible cat puns on the regular.”

“Hey!”

She chuckled.

“I’m the class president at my school and I just finished writing up a proposition to show my principal on Monday.”

“Oh? What about?”

“A lot of the books in the library seem to be kind of outdated. And a lot of students have been wanting newer material. I was thinking we could donate the old books and purchase new ones. Took me a few weeks to persuade him to even listen to me, but I finally got him to budge and yeah. I think it’s good.”

A light pink dusted her cheeks as she pushed some of her hair back behind her ear shyly. A small smile spread on her lips.

Chat felt his stomach flutter, so he cleared his throat.

“That’s awesome!”

She shrugged modestly before crossing her right leg over her left, her foot almost brushing Chat’s lower thigh.

“So, why are you here? You don’t usually visit more than once a week.”

This time _he_ shrugged before he sat himself up to get a better look at her.

“I…um…was bored? Wanted to see how you were.”

He wasn’t necessarily lying since he did often wonder how his friends were doing, however, that wasn’t the whole truth and Marinette seemed to grasp that easily enough.

“ _Uhuh_.”

“Yeah. And you seem to be doing great! So that’s cool!”

He laughed awkwardly before he noticed Marinette’s eyes flicker to his hands that were rested on his lap. He was unknowingly fidgeting his fingers. He stopped almost immediately.

Marinette gave him a knowing look with her eyebrows raised and he finally let out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding.

“I need your help.”

She hummed. “With what?”

“With the next chapter of my story.”

He wasn’t looking her in the eye and his cheeks felt warm.

She nudged his thigh with her foot and he glanced back up at her. She had a small reassuring smile playing on her lips and for some reason his face felt even warmer.

He sighed.

“I know what I want to happen in this next chapter, but I’m not sure how to write it or what details to add. I have certain plot points in mind, but I don’t know what to put in-between them? And I definitely have no idea how to start off this chapter.”

“I’d like to help but I don’t think I’m the best person to come to about this. I don’t really write.”

“But you’re super imaginative!” He blurted out before he could even think about what he was saying. Marinette’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and Chat almost slammed his hands against his mouth.

He couldn’t just tell her that he found her sketches amazing. He couldn’t explain how intelligent she sounded when she would answer a question in their literature class. And since she never talked about her designs with Chat Noir, he couldn’t just bring that up out of nowhere. So, his eyes started to search the room quickly as he, yet again, attempted to channel his inner Ladybug to see if he could spot something that could help him out.

And then his eyes stopped searching and he almost sighed in relief.

“That mannequin,” He started almost excitedly. His right hand pointed to the object behind him that was wearing an unfinished blue ruffled blouse. It looked to be made of a shiny silk fabric and the color reminded him of his partner’s eyes. And maybe those of another’s. “You designed that, right? You’re a designer?”

He looked back at the girl and saw her expression soften, looking less skeptical.

“Oh, yeah I am. But that doesn’t mean I can write.”

“I don’t want you to write. I just want to see if you can help me brainstorm ideas? I mean,” He turned to glance at the blouse another time and couldn’t help but smile fondly at it. “You seem to be really good at that.”

Designing wasn’t easy, Adrien knew that probably better than anyone in his class - excluding Marinette of course. Ever since he was a child he would see the way his father would spends days, sometimes _weeks_ , on rough drafts of designs that would eventually never become finalized and thrown in the trash. It was a long and tiring process. So, when he looked at that blouse on the mannequin that only had one sleeve carefully pinned to it, Adrien knew that it wasn’t any different for Marinette.

She was a hard and very creative worker and it was always so evident.

A small giggle took him out of his thoughts and he returned to his position from before, looking at his friend.

“Puns may get you nowhere, Chat. But flattery will get you everywhere.”

Adrien felt his lips separate a little.

“Tell me what you got so far. I’ll give it a try.”

* * *

 

They planned for what seemed like minutes but what were actually hours, the time having gone by quickly as if someone fast-forwarded their lives without them knowing. It wasn’t until Marinette yawned rather loudly that one of them finally checked the time. It was late, almost four in the morning late, and Chat almost spat out the water that he was drinking when the girl had notified him.

“Seriously?” He asked, still astonished.

“Crazy right?”

Yeah, he needed to get home immediately. If his father happened to check up on him he would be utterly screwed.

To say the least that is.

“Geez, I didn’t know it was so late. I’m so sorry, Marinette.” He apologized as he placed his glass on her desk right beside the plate of cookies she’d brought up earlier. His guilt was visible in his tone.

Marinette shook her head.

“No worries. It’s my fault too. I should’ve been more watchful of the time.”

He started walking over to her circular window and she followed behind. They both yawned in unison and both of their feet seemed to drag along the wooden floor.

“Guess we got a little carried away, huh?” He asked as he stopped right behind her chaise, his baton ready in hand.

She smiled and shrugged.

“At least you know how to write the chapter now.”

“Yeah, and then some. Thank you so much again, Marinette. I owe you one, really.”

She shook her head tiredly and ran her fingers through her bangs, attempting to move them more to the side.

“You don’t owe me anything, Chat. You were the one that came up with more than half of the ideas. I just tweaked a few things.”

“A few things? The akuma’s name now is Blackhole and he has a shadow that can devour _buildings_! That’s so badass.”

The girl touched the side of her chin with her index finger thoughtfully and her giant sleeve fell to her elbow.

“You _are_ right about that. It is pretty badass. I do take full credit for that one.” She admitted, causing the two to laugh softly. “But seriously, it was… kind of fun.”

Chat waggled his eyebrows and Marinette immediately looked like she regretted her words.

“Is the princess gonna give fanfiction a chance now?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself hero. This doesn’t mean I’m going to start avidly reading stories about you and your partner loving it up,” Chat’s face reddened almost instantly. “ _But_ , it _was_ interesting to see the whole planning process.”

“Yeah?”

Her arms were crossed over her chest now.

“Yeah. It was…cool.”

“ _Ah_.”

“I’ll be looking out for an update email. I think it’s gonna be good.” Marinette winked, and Adrien felt a sense of something pleasant rush through him. What it was, however, he wasn’t sure. But he didn’t question it.

“Oh, Okay.”  
She smiled. He nodded since he didn’t really know what else to do and glanced at the window for a second before looking back. He held his baton with both hands nervously.

“So, before I go I just want to make sure of something,” He cleared his throat, trying to make his tone sound nonchalant. “Is my story still the only one you’re reading?”

“Yup. And the only one I _will_ read.”

He blushed slightly and nodded again.

“Cool. Cool.”

She rolled her eyes and chuckled before reaching behind him to push open the window. A light breeze swept in.

“Goodnight, Chat.”

Adrien almost giggled, her hoodie was way too big for her. He bowed instead.

“Goodnight, Princess.”                                                            

* * *

 

**Chapter 16 of “The Empty Streets of Paris”**

**\--by** _**FelineGood16** _ **** **on FanWorkz.net**

 

 

Ladybug is running towards him. And it’s not the usual kind of running where someone speeds up to get to a certain place faster. It’s the kind of running that’s desperate, as if her life depended on it. Felix sees her emotion through each rough landing - he _feels_ her concern every time her knees bend.

She’s worried about him.

He’s under rubble, he can’t feel his right arm, and he’s trying to smile at her. But instead he wails in pain.  

“Chat!”

She’s on her knees now right beside him, quickly picking up the broken and scattered pieces of cement to free him. His eyes are closed shut and his teeth are grinding against each other almost violently. He tastes blood.

“I’m sorry, Chat. Crap, I’m so sorry. I-I don’t know what to do. You’re hurt and you need to go the hospital, but also your identity I-“

“You’re okay.” He whispers in between breaths.

She’s crying now, and Felix would wipe her tears if he could lift his arm.

“You’re an idiot. Y-you shouldn’t have done that,” Her right hand is on the side of his face and her breaths are brushing the tip of his nose. She strokes his cheek gingerly with her thumb - her eyes glisten from the moisture.

“The akuma.” He says.  

“I know, kitty.”

He’s never heard her use that soft tone with him before. He wishes the circumstance was different and closes his eyes.

She taps his cheek.

“Hey, hey, stay with me.” They both hear an explosion from afar and she lowers her head. Her bangs are hiding her eyes and she sniffles. “What do I do? I don’t know what to do.”

 Chat Noir whispers her name and hopes she can hear him. 

“Win, my lady.”               

* * *

 

Adrien visited Marinette’s home the following week to show her all the comments and reads their chapter got. It was one of the most well received chapters he’d ever posted, and Marinette was almost as flabbergasted as he was. She warmed up some celebratory popcorn for them and they both laughed and answered comments for the rest of the night on her desktop.

The audience seemed to enjoy just about everything in the update. From the akuma (as Adrien had expected), to the romance, to the major battle scene between Blackhole and Ladybug at the end that was a mixture of both suspense and awesomeness. It was all taken so well, and it made Chat feel all bubbly inside.

Marinette seemed to have felt the same way since she giggled at almost every comment that was about the akuma itself. She kept glancing over at Chat with the biggest grin on her face while she read a few of the responses aloud.  

Adrien realized then that Marinette had a very contagious smile. Each time he saw even a hint of her teeth he couldn’t help but mirror her expression. Especially when her cheeks were rosy too and were lifted in that way that made her eyes sparkle and look squinted. He only ever saw that smile when she was around Alya, or really anyone else besides him and Chloe. That expression was reserved for friends and loved ones only, and now that he was finally getting to see it for himself because of something they did together, well he couldn’t get enough.

“A job well done, Chat. You did good.”

“ _We_ did good.”

She looked up at him again from her seat and smiled once more before nodding.

“Yeah. That too.”

He nodded back and they both turned their attention back to the screen, Marinette still scrolling through the web page. Adrien lowered his body even more, since he was standing, so he could get a better view of the computer and decided last minute to look at his friend instead. His mouth was beginning to fall open, as if to say something, but he couldn’t remember exactly what he even wanted to say. So, he swallowed and cleared his throat before closing his mouth again, those potential words still lingering somewhere in the back of his mind.   

The lights in her room were off, with the exception of her dim desk lamp and screen, so the shadows on her face emphasized her features. Her long eyelashes casted shadows on the very top parts of her cheeks, outlining almost each lash. The white screen in front of them was reflected in her eyes and made the remaining blue shade appear illuminated, like the color was barely there. Marinette had pale skin so the light coming from her desktop easily gave it a light blue tint that really brought out her freckles.

She had so many.

“Chat!”

Adrien almost jumped at his friend’s abrupt tone. She’d been talking to him and he was too busy staring at her to listen.

_Oh my god._

“Y-yes, Marinette?”

He was hoping that the heat in his face wasn’t physically evident in the dark room. He could feel it go up to the tips of his ear.

“I asked about your author’s note.”

He couldn’t look her in the eye anymore, so he decided to look back at the screen. He rubbed his knuckles on his thigh.

“What about it?”

“You said someone helped you.”

“Yeah, and?”

She didn’t respond.

“Is that a problem? I mean I didn’t state who you were or anything, but I can take it out if you want?”

He would’ve felt dirty if he didn’t credit Marinette in some way. She did help him get out of his small writer’s block and even helped him come up with a few ideas for his next chapter. It was the very least he could do.

However, maybe he should’ve asked if it was alright with her first. He started to feel guilty until he met her eyes again. She was smiling softly. Gosh, it was like Marinette had a different smile for each mood.

“Nah, it’s alright. But next time you don’t have to say that. It’s fine.”

Adrien’s eyes widened.

Marinette cocked an eyebrow.

“What is it?”

He tried to suppress a grin and shook his head.

_Next time. There’s going to be a next time._

“Nothing. But, I think I’m still going to credit you when you do help. If that’s okay.”

She eyed him silently for a second; her eyes trailed up and down his face before she finally mirrored his expression and shrugged.

“Fine by me.”    

* * *

 

“Kim, it’s almost nine at night and I’m starving. Can you please cut the competition crap for one second?” Alix complained as she and Adrien finally walked out of the movie theater into the fresh, cool air. They just finished watching this new indie horror movie that Nino had wanted to see for a few weeks now. It was about some gigantic slime slug that ate vegetarians. It was very odd, but it did have nice camera angles and transitions and Alix and Nino kept hitting his arm at some parts with bursts of excitement and laughter, so it wasn’t all that bad.

Though, his right arm did feel a bit sore. That was the one Alix kept hitting.

“Just one second, Alix. Nino’s about to owe me twenty euros!”

Both Nino and Kim were ahead of the two, standing by a small tree that had a circle of brick surrounding it. Kim was trying to chase some pigeons away, and Nino was staring down at him with frustration, his arms crossed.

“I’m not going to owe you anything. You literally just pulled me over here so you could scare a few birds.”

Kim continued to laugh, ignoring the other boy as he fell to his knees. He started to walk himself in that manner with his hands open and his fingers bent as if he had claws. He began to make this ridiculous sound with his mouth that sounded like he was trying to mimic the slime monster from the movie and Adrien couldn’t help but chuckle, his hand covering his mouth shyly.

“Oh god, please don’t encourage him, Adrien.” Alix said, her head turned up to the side to look at him. She was so tiny and since she wasn’t wearing her signature cap that night, she looked even _shorter_ than usual. It was adorable.

Adrien shrugged and tried to suppress a smile. She rolled her eyes teasingly and walked herself over to a bench near the tree. She sighed once she sat down, and Adrien wasn’t sure what to do so he sat on the bench as well. She slid her phone out of her pocket and pressed the home button immediately, the brightness from her screen causing her to squint briefly as her eyes tried to adjust to the lighting. She cursed under her breath and Adrien glanced back over at Kim and Nino. Nino had started to film their friend on his phone – most likely for snapchat – and Kim was starting to screech at the camera, still in character.

A few people that were exiting the theater were starting to stare at their group with confused expressions on their faces, and Adrien didn’t know whether to feel amused or embarrassed. He eventually decided on both and gave the passersby apologetic smiles when they’d look at him. God, he loved his friends.

He looked back at Alix and saw that she was typing in a phone number in her device now and put it quickly on speaker once she pressed the green telephone button. She held her phone loosely in her hand right in front of her lips and rose her eyebrows at Adrien when she met his gaze. She was giving him this sort of look as if he understood what she was doing but he really didn’t, so he just smiled back, unsure.

After a few rings the person finally picked up and the recognizable voice rang through.

“Yes, Alix?” Max said, not even bothering with a greeting.

Alix sighed dramatically to emphasize her frustration.

“Your best friend is being annoying.”

“He _is_ your best friend too, you know.”

“As of right now he isn’t. Until I get my food, Kim is officially cancelled.”

“Alix, you cannot just _cancel_ someone. That is logically impossible.”

Alix scowled at her phone as if Max could see her and Adrien leaned back against the seat, resting his hands on his thighs.

“Max, do you want to be cancelled as well?”

There was silence for a few seconds and Adrien could hear Nino laughing from a few feet away from them.

“…No.” He responded.

Alix smiled victoriously.

“Good answer. So, do me a favor and talk to Kim for me so I can get dinner.”

“Is he still trying to frighten those pigeons?”

Adrien cocked an eyebrow, wondering how Max could’ve possibly known that. But then realized that Nino probably sent him snaps as expected.

“Yes. Yes, he is.”

Max groaned through the line and even though he wasn’t there, Adrien imagined that the boy was adjusting his glasses like he always had when he seemed frustrated. He always moved them closer to his forehead even when it wasn’t necessary.

“Put him on.”

“Gladly.”

Alix then lowered her phone on her lap and cupped her mouth, taking in a deep breath and screaming for Nino to go over to them.

Nino jumped and almost dropped his phone.

“What the fuck, Alix. I’m right over here. Geez!”

Alix shrugged and handed over her device to him once he reached them. He was rubbing his ears back and forth as if Alix had just burnt them with her voice.

“Give this to Kim. Max is gonna tell him how stupid he’s being.”

“I’m not gonna do that,” Max defended. “I’m going to simply explain how it is surely impossible for Kim to be a slime monster. Since our bodies are not entirely made from mucus and our saliva-“

“Gross, Max. Save the lecture for, Kim alright?” Nino interrupted, rolling his eyes at Alix before finally turning himself around to return to his area from before.

“Drag him, Max!” She yelled lastly in encouragement.

Adrien snorted, and she finally gave him her attention again.

“So, where do you want to eat? I was thinking pizza.”

“Do you think Max is actually gonna stop him?”

“Yeah, totally.”

They both glanced over at Kim who was now seated on the ground, his left hand holding her phone and his right brushing through his quiff. His eyebrows were knitted together and he looked like he was listening closely to whatever Max was telling him. 

“You see that _,_ ” she started again. Her small hand motioning towards her best friend. “Max is the only one that can do it.”

“Do what? Get Kim to listen? What about Chloe?”

She shook her head and smiled fondly at her friends.

“Chloe gets him to listen. But that’s because he’s intimidated by her and is still lowkey crushing on her. But Max gets him to calm down.”

She whispered the last part like it was a secret between them, and Adrien scooted himself closer to her, so their small bubble seemed more private. People have never really trusted him with secrets before, and even though her words didn’t seem super significant, it seemed to be important to Alix so therefore, it was now important to him.

“And why is that?” He muttered.

“Isn’t it obvious? Look at his face, dude.”

Adrien tilted his head slightly in confusion before obliging. Kim was giggling now, freaking _giggling_ , and his eyes were staring directly at the phone as if he was searching for a physical reaction from someone. Nino looked uninterested standing beside them, instead looking as if he was waiting for their call to end as he was scrolling through his phone.

“Kim’s crushing on Max? I thought he liked Chloe?”

Alix shrugged.

“Dude likes both I guess. But don’t tell anyone, not even Kim. I don’t think he realizes yet.”

“That he likes, Max?”

“Bingo.”

“Hmm.” Adrien never really noticed before. He knew that Kim and Max were close, practically attached to the hip, but he never really looked deeper than that. He wondered if Kim always looked at Max the way he was looking at Alix’s phone at that moment. Adrien never even knew that someone could reveal so much with their eyes before. Sure, he’d read it before in fics and had even written about loving gazes in his own story, but he never actually saw it in person. It was interesting to say the least.

He was starting to get curious.

“I didn’t even notice until you pointed it out. How could you tell?” He asked his friend.

She pushed a strand of her pink hair behind her ear. It seemed to have been bothering her for a while.

“I’m with them almost all the time. I can tell when they’re acting different.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded.

“Same thing happened with Ivan. Kid had been far gone for Mylene since last year and he never told us. But Kim and I could both just _tell_. We were even betting when he’d finally break and ask her out.”

“Who won the bet?”

“Kim, but that’s because he was an ass and kept pushing Ivan even though we agreed not to do it. It wasn’t cool of him.”

Adrien nodded in agreement, remembering how Stoneheart was created in the first place. It wasn’t nice what Kim did to Ivan, no matter his intentions, but he still couldn’t help but be a bit thankful for what had happened. Because of Kim that day, he got to become Chat Noir. He got to have another life that gave him freedom.

He got to meet Ladybug.

“But yeah. People are pretty easy to understand, man. You just gotta be more observant.”

Alix placed her right arm behind her and dangled it over the backside of the bench to get herself more comfortable. Adrien was still curious, and the wind was starting to pick up.

“So, is there anyone else in the class?”

She glanced over at him, confused.

“Like anyone else that you think is crushing on someone?”

Adrien knew that it wasn’t really any of his business. But he couldn’t help himself. The conversation was interesting, Alix seemed to be okay with it, and Adrien loved to learn stuff about his classmates, no matter what that stuff was, so he didn’t think that his question was _too_ intrusive. Alix inspected their surroundings quickly, as if to make sure that the coast was clear, before she leaned herself closer to the boy. The two of them huddled together like a football team talking about their strategies before a game.

“Okay, so I have some theories.”

“Oh?”

She nodded.

“First, Rose and Juleka. They’re so far gone for each other. I wouldn’t be surprised if they walked into class on Monday holding hands.”

Adrien nodded back. He could definitely see that happening. Those two were _always_ together.  

“Second, Nathanael. Poor guy is hung up on someone again and isn’t doing anything about it.”

“He told you?”

She shook her head.

“No, but he’s starting to draw in his sketchbook again during class with that same old dumb, hopeless, look on his face.”

“Same old?”

“Yeah, the one he used to give Marinette when she wasn’t looking. That boy pines _hard_ and it’s kind of sad. Wish I could give him a push.”

Adrien’s stomach began to feel weird at the sound of Marinette’s name and he quickly ignored it. It was an unpleasant feeling. The similar kind he’d feel when Plagg would place aged camembert in front of his face and force him to smell it.

Weird.

“Do you think he still likes Marinette?”

Her lips formed into a thoughtful frown for a moment as she hummed.

“I’m not sure actually. We’re not really close, so I don’t know if he’s completely over her or not. He’s been kind of avoiding her since the _'incident'_ anyway. So, I don’t know if that’s because he’s still embarrassed or because he’s torturing himself.”

“Huh.”

“Yup. Now onto my third theory.” Adrien turned his body more towards the girl, giving her his full attention.

“Alya.” 

He rose his eyebrows, trying to stop himself from glancing over at Nino.

“You think she likes Nino, right?” He whispered very lowly, his voice as soft as the blue scarf around his neck.

Her eyes brightened, and she nodded enthusiastically - the two of them chuckled loudly before Alix shushed him.

“You’re his best friend. He tells you everything, right? Is the dude interested?”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck in contemplation. Nino had yet to announce that he was, but like Kim with Max, it was just very obvious. Nino and Alya were trapped in a cage for a whole afternoon and he wouldn’t stop gushing about how cool she was and about all the things that they surprisingly had in common for days. His friend looked over the moon for a while and even confessed that he no longer was interested in Marinette romantically after only being locked with the reporter for a few hours. There had to have been sparks between them and Adrien really thought that Nino was thinking the same thing. Though that all changed when one morning Nino looked all happy and flustered waving at Alya before sitting down and the next refused to even look at her, frowning the rest of the week. He still hadn’t told Adrien what happened, and Adrien thought that he probably never would.

They seem to be on friendly terms again, but the atmosphere did always hold a bit of unresolved tension when they were together.

“I think he is? He thinks she’s attractive. But that’s all I really know.”

“ _Hmmmm._ I’ll do more observations this week and update you on my findings.”

“Alright.” Adrien laughed. “So, any others that you’ve been speculating about?”

“Yup! One more. Been saving the best for last.”

“Really?”

“The most obvious one. I’m actually a little surprised that you don’t know who I’m talking about.”

He furrowed his eyebrows and began to think about who she could possibly mean. She already talked about Kim, Rose, Juleka, Ivan, Nathanael, Alya, and Nino. So, who else was there? Mylene was off the table since her and Ivan were already a couple. Sabrina admired Chloe, but it didn’t seem like it was anything more than that.  And Chloe didn’t really like people in general, so he thought that he would’ve known if she was crushing on someone. She was very open with her feelings and thoughts on others and he felt that she definitely would’ve let him know. So it couldn't have been her. 

Besides, Adrien didn't think Alix would care enough to tell him or anyone anyway if it was about Chloe. 

“Is it Max? Does he like Kim?”

She snorted.

“That’s a story for another day. But yeah, I didn’t mean him. Come on dude. You gotta know.”

“I’m sorry. But I really don’t.”

“Wow, Adrien and I thought Nino was blind.” She chuckled, and his lips formed into a small pout. He almost crossed his arms over his chest, but Alix stopped him with a small smack to his shoulder. “Just messing with you dude. But I was talking about Marinette. Thought she was a part of your other squad.”

“I mean I guess she is? I only really hang out with her when Nino and Alya invite m- _wait a second._ ” Adrien’s eyes widened in realization as he replayed Alix’s words in his head. He sat himself up completely - his shoulders tensed. “Marinette…is crushing on someone?”

Alix nodded.

“Definitely. The signs are all there.”  
“Signs?”

“You know the stammering, the constant blushing, the extra clumsiness. Chick’s got it _baaaad_.”

“I thought she always did that?”

“Marinette? Yeah, right. I mean she used to be a little scared of Chloe before this year. But other than that, the girl’s a beast. She could walk up to anyone, punch them in the face, and I bet they’d thank her.”

“Ah.”

So, Marinette liked someone. Well that explained why she’d been acting so nervous around him. He probably knew the person and she was worried that he would find out and tell them. I mean he was still seen as the new kid by some, maybe Marinette was a part of those few and still didn’t trust him yet.  

That possibility got him feeling a little down.

He wondered who she liked. They were probably wonderful, maybe even _as_ amazing as Marinette.

“Do you know who it is? Who she likes?”

Again, it wasn’t any of his business. But maybe if he could find out who it was he could reassure Marinette that he wouldn’t tell a soul and maybe even be her wingman. Maybe they could really start being friends as his civilian self then. Maybe he could even help Marinette be with them.

Adrien’s stomach turned unpleasantly again at the last thought. He began to wonder if he had eaten anything bad earlier that day. The feeling, however, didn’t seem to linger so he let it go.

“Not a clue. Though, it’s gotta be someone at the school.”

“Yeah,” He started shuffling his feet a little against the cement floor.  “It’s a possibility.”

Alix quickly stood up once she saw Kim and Nino walking over to them, a large charismatic smile on his face with her phone in his hand.

“Ready to go?”

“About time. Yeah, I’m ready!”

Alix started talking about several pizza places nearby that they could go to. And the others joined in on the conversation, suggesting things here-and-there. Adrien zoned out after a few seconds and didn’t hear much of the rest.

_Who does she like?_

“Adrien!”

He glanced up and saw three sets of eyes on him. He was still sitting down so he got himself up, his hands going straight to the inside of his pockets.

“Sorry, I…um,” He cleared his throat and forced a smile. “Pizza sounds good.”

* * *

“My my my,” The akumatized victim began, her hands clapping slowly, almost mockingly. “Color me impressed. I didn’t think you two would find me so quickly. Hawkmoth did inform me that you were both pretty tactical. Maybe I should’ve taken him more seriously.”

“Hawkmoth is a psychopathic manipulator that takes advantage of people’s emotions.” Ladybug said. Adrien could _feel_ the passion in her voice right to his bones. She was trying to reason with the victim as she always had so she could avoid fighting them. Even though it never worked, Chat respected and admired how she always continued to try anyway. “Simone, you’re a brilliant athlete with so much potential and talent. Don’t let that villain use you like this.”

They were fighting a famous marathon runner that got second place that morning. Her villain name was Bolt and she had the power of super speed. It took them quite a while to actually locate her since she was so fast, but they eventually decided to check Le Grand Paris since all the runners were staying there and found her on the roof with all the victims tied up around the pool.

Her smile vanished, and her eyes widened tremendously. Chat for a second thought that maybe this time would be different, that maybe his Lady would actually help someone without them having to resort to violence. But then that purple butterfly appeared once more, silent and intimidating, and Bolt was muttering something to it. And then the symbol faded away and Bolt formed fists at her side. Chat imagined that her knuckles were probably white under her thick black gloves.

“You do make a good point, Ladybug.” She growled. “I _am_ a brilliant athlete and I _do_ have talent. And that’s why _I_ should’ve won. But that didn’t happen. And so, before I can fix that, I need you and your little stray to give me something that doesn’t belong to you!”

Chat and Ladybug noticed a while ago that she was still wearing her second-place medal, except now it had a lightning bolt engraved in the middle. They both suspected that the purple butterfly was hiding in there. They hoped they were right. They hoped they would be able to snatch it.

She started running and both Chat and his partner leaped into the air to dodge her headbutt. He could’ve sworn that his feet grazed the top of her head even though it would’ve been impossible for a normal human to have gotten to him that fast from her distance a few seconds prior. But she was also temporarily no longer a normal human, so that was frustrating.

“ _Ahhhhhhhhh!_ ” Bolt yelled, turning around and staring them both down like a raging bull. She may not have had supersonic speed, but she was damn near close to having it. In a blink of an eye, before he could even react, Chat felt a punch to his jaw. His eyes closed on impact and before he or anyone else knew it, Bolt kneed him in his stomach and lifted him up from the ground by the end of his belt. She twirled him around like a rag doll and his head felt like a jar of shaken marbles. He would’ve vomited if the action would’ve gone any longer, but luckily, Ladybug used that opportunity to tie her yo-yo around the middle-aged woman and left her immobile for a while.

Chat quickly extended his baton once he was in the air to lower himself to the ground with ease. He immediately dropped to his knees to allow his mind to rest and return to normal before slowly getting himself back up to return to his lady who looked to have her hands full. Bolt was still standing, however, her whole body from her feet to her chest were wrapped with the infinite seeming length of Ladybug’s yo-yo string. The heroine went to reach for her medal.  

Adrien started to run again.

Bolt began to laugh once Chat approached them and the tied-up victims screamed out words in unison that neither of the heroes understood. It all sounded like an incoherent, jumbled up mess and the boy knew that once this was all over he was going to have to take some kind of medicine for his growing headache.

“You truly believe that thread can restrain me? How insulting.”

Chat felt himself gasp at the sudden sight before him, his eyes trailing back-and-forth from the woman to Ladybug’s hands that were trying so hard to hold onto the string as she began to vibrate. Freaking _vibrate._ Bolt was practically pulsating her whole body to such an extent that she looked like she had several clones of herself moving along with her actions at a fast, astonishing rate. And then her body somehow went _through_ the string as if she had no physical body and she was free, snickering in a sinister manner that gave the boy goosebumps all throughout his forearms and neck.

He couldn’t believe what he just saw. How in the hell were they going to beat her?

Ladybug seemed to be as astounded by the situation as well since she turned to look at Chat with confusion and shock in her eyes, her lips separated.

Chat just shrugged and said, “Well that did _knot_ go as planned.”

She narrowed her eyes and refused to respond until Bolt unexpectedly grabbed her by the neck, and pinned his partner to the ground. The _thud_ powerfully echoed throughout their surroundings. Chat felt his heart thump loudly in his chest and was frozen in place.

“I’ve got you now, bug,” Ladybug’s petite hands were on Bolt’s, attempting to free herself from the woman’s grasp but failing. Thankfully, she wasn’t choking the heroine, but she was still hurting her. “Any last words?” 

The girl’s eyes shut tight as she wrapped her legs around Bolt’s waist. She still wasn’t getting anywhere, and Chat started to search around desperately.

“How cute, you’re still trying? Just admit defeat. You’re not going to win. So just accept second place.”

He sprinted to the victor of the marathon, a man named Elias from Germany, and used his claws to break through the wires. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he found out that he was the first person she captured.

“Sir, what are you-“

Chat shushed the older man and leaned his mouth closer to his ear.

“You’re going to have to trust me on this okay?”

He pulled back and saw how the foreigner didn’t reply, looking conflicted. But then, Chat continued to reassure him and after hearing yet another laugh from Bolt, Elias gulped and finally complied with a simple nod.

Chat nodded back and took a deep breath before picking the freed man up in his arms.

“Wow, Elias! Please tell me more about how deserving you were of your medal as I escape with you in my arms!”

Elias wrapped his arms tightly around Chat’s neck and glared up at him wide-eyed in disbelief.

“Do you want her to kill us?”

Chat didn’t respond, but instead began to run himself towards the staircase as loudly and as obnoxiously as he could. He forced out a mocking laugh as he turned his head to the side to see if Bolt was paying them any mind whatsoever. She wasn’t looking at them, but he could see her shoulders tense. They caught her attention. 

_Come on. Come on._

He cleared his throat and slowed his pace.

“Really, Elias?! Simone was _that_ slow?! Wow! Your medal was practically _given_ to you from the start then, huh?!”

All of the other victims that were still sitting a few feet away were groaning at his remarks - one woman that he did not recognize even cried. And Elias began to look over the hero’s shoulder in absolute fear. The man whimpered and before Chat could even ask what the matter was, he felt a strong hand on his shoulder.

He smiled.

“Would you like to repeat that?” The woman whispered in his ear in a dark tone, all sense of humor that was present before completely gone. Chat still didn’t turn around, instead he squeezed the bottom of Elias’ knee so he would look at him and mouthed ‘ _run_ ’ before he finally lowered him to the ground.

His hand went to his baton. “I said your _purr_ -ty slow.”

He turned around and quickly blocked a roundhouse kick with his staff. Bolt looked like she wanted to kill him, and Ladybug was nowhere to be found. She was probably hiding and formulating a plan. He continued to keep Bolt distracted to give his partner as much time as he could.

Block after block, dodge after dodge, insult after insult, Chat was doing it all and he was beginning to get exhausted. Bolt was too fast, and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to take another one of her unsuspecting punches. He was definitely going to bruise.

“I am the fastest being on the planet! No one can defeat me!” She hollered before jumping in the air and aiming for Chat’s stomach with a flying back kick. The hero barely dodged it with a back-flip - his knees almost gave out once he landed.

“With the exception of Elias, of course.” He responded through a forced cocky smirk, his breaths rapid and uneven. Where was his Lady?

“That’s it! Someone needs to teach you some manners, boy!”

Bolt stood in front of him, lowering her back, bending her legs, and stretching her fingers out before she started rubbing her hands together, faster than almost anything he’d ever seen. Her piercing dark green eyes never left him and when he saw sparks beginning to ignite around her gloves, he began to internally panic.

She could generate her own electricity.

_Of course._

She was smiling again, and Chat wondered if she could read minds as well since she seemed to know exactly what he was thinking and exactly how nervous and even scared she was starting to make him. He furrowed his eyebrows and twirled his baton skillfully before pointing it in front of him.

Even if he didn’t stand a chance, he refused to give up.

And then he saw the easily recognizable red string tie around the woman’s ankle and she fell on all fours. The electricity disappeared once she lost focus.

“Sorry I’m late, Chaton. Was a little busy.”

His lady pointed to the now empty poolside and Chat finally noticed that all the victims were gone.

The smile that returned on his face was once again genuine and if it weren’t for the situation at hand he would’ve gone to his partner to pat her on the shoulder. But instead, he nodded, and they prepared themselves for Bolt’s vibrating magic trick. However, it never came since instead she rubbed her hands together yet again to spark her gloves up, placing the flames against the string to free herself.

Ladybug’s eyes widened in surprise and she glanced over at Chat.

“Well, that’s… _shocking_.”

The feline couldn’t help himself, he placed his hand over his heart and sighed lovingly.

“ _My Lady_.”

She shook her head and rolled her eyes quickly with a small smile on her face before jumping into the air to dodge one of Bolt’s electric punches. The two then began to coordinate their moves as they attempted to somehow snatch the untouched medal that was still around her neck. Even though they were not quite successful, they were at least notably tiring her out since the sparks around her were beginning to weaken and her speed was beginning to falter quite considerably.

Bolt seemed to be noticing this as well since she suddenly walked herself over to the edge of the building and closed her hands into tight fists, the sparks disappearing. She was breathing heavily, her shoulders rising and falling with each breath. For a second Chat thought that she might have actually given herself up.

But then that _smile_ of hers returned and she saluted them before jumping off the building.

Chat felt his heart leap out of his throat and Ladybug _gasped._ Ladybug never gasped.

They both ran to the edge where the woman was seconds before and looked over at the street below them, the two of them hoping that she was okay.

“Do you see her?!” He yelled, his voice almost cracking from trepidation.

The street was empty and there seemed to be nobody within eye-view of the area. He was both relieved and concerned. He was glad that Bolt didn’t actually injure or kill herself, but now the fear was different. Now he felt as if a large poisonous spider that he just saw that was beside him went missing in less than a second. And he had to now find it in order to save himself from a possible deadly bite.

And Adrien really despised spiders.

“She must’ve fled somewhere. She may be searching for more energy.” Ladybug’s eyes were squinted. She looked to be searching for a very small needle in a very large haystack.

“More energy?! From what?!”

She sighed in frustration. She looked and sounded exhausted.

“I…I don’t know. I didn’t even know she could generate electricity till now! Who knows what else she could do.”

“Should we start scanning the area?”

“Yeah, I think for now that’s all we can do. She looked tired. So hopefully that means it’ll be easier to spot her now that she can’t run as fast any-“

They both immediately lost their footing and fell on their knees. Chat used his baton to pick both him and his lady up. The building was shaking and tilting to the left. He could hear the pool water from behind him beginning to splash around and loud laughter from below was surfacing.

Bolt was still there. But she was just on the street under their noses, destroying the building easily as if it were a toy. The atmosphere was getting warm, very warm, and smoke was beginning to surround them like fog. They had to leave.

“You think I could go down that easy?!” Bolt yelled from afar, her laughter ringing in their ears. She was throwing lightning bolts at the building, trying to burn it down, trying to kill them.

“We gotta go, my Lady. _Now_! The building is going down fast!” He reached for Ladybug’s hand, wanting to grab it so they could guide themselves off the premises together. “It seems like she’s waiting for us so we’re going to have to try to escape through the ba-my Lady?”

Ladybug smacked his hand away from her. Her knees were wobbling as she tried to regain balance, but at the rate the building was going, that was going to be impossible.

“She wants us to go down there. She’s waiting. If we take any longer she may leave again and destroy another building! The civilians are hiding. They’re going to be safe. This is between us now. We can stop her!”

He rested his hands on her shoulders and forced her to look at him. He probably looked insane at the moment with his eyes widened and his hair strands sticking out everywhere, but he didn’t care. He had to talk some sense into his partner and fast.

“Listen, Ladybug. If we go down there she’s probably going to try to capture us or _kill_ us. The smoke is thick and we wouldn’t be able to see properly. I say we head out back, if anything, hide for a bit to form a plan, and look for her then.”

She shook her head - her eyes looked over at the buildings across from them with great determination and intensity. She was thinking of something, something reckless and he knew it. Adrien almost fell again as the building tumbled even lower. His mind and his heart were both racing.

“We have to move!” Ladybug didn’t say anything, she just tightened her right hand into a fist and tied her yoyo back around her waist.

“I’m sorry, Chat. But I guess I’m going to have to do this alone.”

“Wait, Wha-“ Before he could finish his sentence, before he could grab her, his partner jumped off the building. Her body disappeared into the smoke as if it were a thick cloud and Chat felt like he was going to vomit.

_Why would she do that?! What do I do?! What do I do?!_

Without another thought, he gripped his baton tighter than he ever had and jumped after her.

He was desperately searching for her, for a hint of red, a blue strand of hair, for anything. But instead, all he heard was laughter and all he saw were bursts of light being flung into the air like golden rods. He extended his staff so he could get himself towards them, thinking that was where his lady was. And luckily, he was right. He spotted one of her ribbons and saw that she was still diving through the vast darkness surrounding them. She was mumbling something under her breath, refusing to reach for her yo-yo. So, when he saw a bolt going towards her, he did what he had to and lunged for her, taking his partner in his arms and lowering the both of them to the ground as gently as he could. He fell on top of her when they landed, and he slowly rolled off. She was angry at him.

“What the heck, Chat?! I told you I was going to do this!”

“You think I was going to just let you _die_? Are you insane?!”

They were scowling at each other, but before the conversation could go any further, Chat got back on top of his partner and rolled them both away from falling rubble. It barely missed his ankle. He took a deep breath and coughed, feeling the electric smoke enter his lungs.

“We need to get out of here.” He said.

Ladybug pushed him off before they both got themselves up.

“Where is Bolt?”

“ _Hello_?! Are you even listening to me?! We need to leave!”

“We need to find Bolt!”

They were nose-to-nose now and not in the way Chat had dreamed of many times before. They weren’t confessing their love to each other and he wasn’t about to lean in to kiss her. No, instead her brows were furrowed, Chat was practically snarling, and they were still in the middle of a battle that was looking to be more difficult to win as seconds went by.

“Bolt is gone! The building is falling, so she probably fled to a safe area!” Ladybug’s shoulders were still back and she was still trying to make herself seem intimidating, so Chat finally sighed and stepped further away from her.

“My lady,” He said, his tone much softer than before. “when you jumped I thought you were going to-“

He sniffled, and her expression eased immediately. He placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Just please, trust me on this one.”

She placed her own hand over one of his and didn’t push it away – she just let herself hold onto it. He didn’t know what to say so he waited for her. She sighed.

“Alright, kitty. Let’s go.”

They wound up hiding on the roof of some restaurant neither of them recognized and came up with a plan. They would look for Bolt again, Ladybug would finally call for her lucky charm, Chat would find an opportunity to cataclysm the ground as she ran so she would trip, they would steal her gloves and boots so she wouldn’t be able to generate electricity, Ladybug would use her lucky charm, and hopefully they would get her medal and save Paris.   

Chat was still angry and hurt by his partner and her actions from earlier and still wanted to speak to her about them, but he knew that it wasn’t the right time. That he’d have to wait till they were done for the day to be able to do so. Chat wasn’t sure if he would even have any energy left in him to have the conversation. His mind and his muscles felt like jelly and he was both mentally and physically drained and he knew that his Lady wasn’t feeling any better. He shrugged the situation off momentarily, and ran with the heroine.

After a few minutes of searching around the city, they found Bolt again. Or well, she found _them_. The purple butterfly outline was hovering over her face once more and Chat assumed that Hawkmoth probably demanded her to look for them so she could acquire their miraculouses.

As soon as she reached them, they didn’t hesitate. They went full force with their plan and surprisingly were succeeding. Ladybug’s lucky charm this time was a banana and after a while of thinking, she finally decided to use it right after Chat had removed the woman’s gloves. She had attempted to get up and run off again, but Ladybug quickly removed the peel from the banana and threw it in front of the woman, causing her to fall once more and injure herself. Chat immediately went for her medal and tossed it to his Lady who crushed it with her hands. The dark insect was released and after she purified it and yelled, “Miraculous Ladybug!” while throwing the banana in the air, all the smoke and dark atmosphere began to clear. People slowly began to leave their shelters and homes and were cheering for the two exhausted heroes.

They simply waved and when they finally turned to each other, their happy expressions changed. Adrien walked himself closer to her and she didn’t step back nor forward, she just stood still and stared at him, waiting for his move. Her blue eyes didn't look as alive as they usually were. They looked different - darker, and weren't sparkling.  Her hair was a mess with strands going wherever they pleased and Ladybug let them be. She looked very disheveled in general and Adrien had to stop himself from fixing one of her ribbons that was loosened.  

He took a deep breath. 

“We’re going to have to talk about what happened.” He said.

Her earrings beeped but she didn’t even flinch.

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Why?”

She glanced at the ground and the grip on her yo-yo tightened.

“You’re not ready… God, _I’m_ not even ready!”

“Ready for what?! _Please_ ,” he held up her chin so she could look at him. His action wasn't romantic or meant to be intimidating in any way. Instead it was urgent, _pleading_. He was so lost and confused and he just needed her to look at him. He needed her to _see_ him. “Talk to me.”

People were surrounding them, taking pictures and videos of their little exchange, but he paid them no mind. His ring beeped.

“We’ll talk about it in patrol, okay? I…I gotta go.”

He lowered his hand and simply nodded before she started to walk off, getting her yo-yo ready to swing away. She stopped midway, however, and turned back.

“Good job by the way.” She said, smiling.

It didn’t reach her eyes.

“Yeah, you too.”                      


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is lame and really wants to be friends with Mari.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As mentioned before: I am NOT going by ANYTHING from s2. Nothing will be mentioned from it. So please don't comment that in season 2 something happened that I didn't mention. I'm going by my own thing. So yeah. Also, I did not forget Gabriel's book and what happened to it. That will be mentioned later. And lastly, I'm sorry I'm a loser that never updates. To make it up to you guys I merged two chapters into this one so you got something lengthy. Hope you enjoy <3

He’d been waiting for almost a half hour, and his stomach still felt as if someone had dropped a brick on top of it. He was seated on the roof of an office building near the Eiffel Tower, their decided spot for their meet-up. His fingers were spread out on the cement, and he sat with his legs crisscrossed. The wind breathed down his neck and his hair strands were tickling his forehead.

She was late.

“I’m sorry I’m late. Something came up last minute.”  

It was finally Wednesday night. And they were finally going to talk about what had happened. Adrien had been thinking about that day all weekend, the possibilities of the conversation having ran through his mind and down his spine in the form of chills. What if it went badly? What if she avoided the topic all together?

What wasn’t he ready for?

She sat down right beside him and rested her hands on her thighs.

“It’s fine.” He finally said. He glanced over and noticed how her pigtails were looser than they usually were. She had been in a hurry to get to him.

She nodded, unsure. His claws were gently dragging down the cement.

“So,” She started, forcing a smile on her face. “how are you?”

_Nervous._

_Unsure what you’re going to tell me._

_Wondering why you’re trying to sound so casual._

“Fine. And you?”

“Good.”

She chuckled, and it sounded like it weighed something.

They both were looking at each other, the atmosphere quiet and filled with this tension that was starting to become uncomfortable. She sighed, and looked up at the sky, leaning her weight more on her right side as if to get some space from him.  

“I’m sorry I freaked out on you like that.” She said, her voice thick. “After the battle that is.”

He continued to look at her and let her continue.

“I was discouraged that what I tried didn’t work.”

“What you tried?”

“Yeah, when I jumped after Bolt. _That_.”

She was getting to the point and even though a part of him felt slightly relieved by that, he still felt that frustration from that battle still lingering in his chest.

“Why did you do that? What did you expect from that?” He asked.

His voice sounded annoyed, bitter, but most of all concerned. And he knew that she sensed that since her shoulders slightly tensed at his tone.

“Do you know who chose you to be Chat Noir?”

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he began to wonder if she heard his questions correctly.

“I- _What_?”

She finally looked at him and her expression was serious, however, a little hesitant.

“Do you?” She repeated.

He felt slightly taken aback, still as lost as ever. He was hoping that this had to do with the topic at hand.

“No.”

She nodded, expectant.

“Well, I do.”

Chat didn’t know how to respond to that. He stilled, questions and shock beginning to wander into his mind like a stampede. She continued.

“His name is Master Fu. He’s a kind elderly man. He works in this small massage shop close by.” She was rubbing small circles on the ground with her thumbs. “He’s the one that chose us.”

He wasn’t sure what to feel at that moment or what to respond. Where did this come from all of a sudden? Did this guy tell his partner to make such a reckless decision before the Bolt battle? He’d often wondered how his Miraculous ended up in his room. Plagg would never give him any answers so he thought that the kwami wasn’t sure as well and left it at that. But now Ladybug was telling him about this man he’d never heard of - giving him the answer to a question he hadn’t thought about in months, and he wasn’t sure what to say. Was this man even human? Was he good? How did he give Adrien his ring?

 _Why_ did he give Adrien his ring?

He must’ve been silent for a while because Ladybug spoke up once more, taking him out of his thoughts.

“Chat?”

“How long have you known? Have you known since the beginning?”

She shook her head.

“Only for a few weeks. He helped my kwami one time. She was sick, and he healed her.”

“Kwamis can get sick?”

He had much more relevant questions in his head but that’s all he could physically say for some reason.

“Yeah.”

“Ah.”

“ _Chat_.”

She touched his right shoulder and he realized that he wasn’t looking at her anymore, so he returned her gaze. She looked nervous, regretful, but also very determined. It was like her eyes were fire.

“Was he the one that told you to jump like that?”

It took her a moment to understand what he meant, but then her eyes widened slightly in realization and she ducked her head.

“Well, not _necessarily_ …”

He turned his body more towards her, shaking her hand off in the process. She placed it on her thigh.

“What do you mean?”

“Well um,” Her shoulders and back were slightly slumped over so when she took a deep breath she straightened herself up and gave him a serious look. He would’ve found it amusing and adorable if it weren’t for the situation. “We’ve had talks about the Miraculouses for a while. He was teaching me about their individual powers and why they were created. I’m not sure if you’re aware of this but there are several of them. Not just ours and Hawkmoth’s.”

He already knew that from reading his father’s book, but he couldn’t tell her that, so he lied and shook his head.

“I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, me neither until he uh… told me.” She cleared her throat and continued. “Anyway, we spoke of them and then he started getting into more detail about _our_ Miraculouses and I found out things that I didn’t know about before. Things that my kwami never told me.”

“Like what?”

“He was a little vague about everything since he said that I have to find out on my own. But he did tell me that we can unlock hidden parts of our powers. That we actually have _more_ powers that we don’t know about yet.”

He wasn’t sure whether to be shocked, angry, or something else. He was feeling a mixture of different emotions all at once, so it was difficult to focus on one. He had to stretch out his legs, do _something_. He couldn’t stay seated any longer, so he stood up and began to slowly pace back and forth in short strides while he dragged his right hand down his face.  

He groaned.

“Chat-“

“Why did you keep this from me?” His eyes were closed but he stopped himself for just a moment and knew that he was stood right in front of her. “You said you’ve known about this for weeks. Why now?”

She sighed.

“It’s been difficult for me, okay? I’ve been wanting to tell you everything for so long. But he’s a secretive man. He told me that it was too risky for you to know. Heck, he wasn’t planning to even meet _me_!” He opened his eyes and looked down at her. She looked sincere and apologetic and he felt his heart burning in his chest. “I’m sorry, Chat.”

She continued to explain how after the battle with Bolt she went to him the next day, asking for his advice. She had explained to the old man everything that had happened, and he finally gave her permission to talk to her partner. And now they were there. She was still seated down on the floor and he could see his own shadow hiding her from the moonlight hitting him from behind.

“What does this all have to do with your move that day? With Bolt.” He asked, his voice sounding calmer but more tired.

“I was…scared and was panicking when the building was going down. I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t know what to do, but I felt that I had to do _something._ ” Her hands resting on her thighs formed into tight fists. Her face looked slightly pained as she was thinking about something. “Master Fu told me that I can unlock those powers when I need them most, when my Miraculous thinks I’m courageous and ready enough to handle them.”

She turned her sight down to her fists that loosened slightly once she looked at them. She was biting her lip, trying to hold something back.  

“I thought that maybe if I did something desperate I’d-“ She never finished the sentence and her voice was soft like rain clouds. The tension in his body began to escape him at the sight of her evident vulnerability, her struggle to bring out the words from her mind. He felt like he was meeting his Lady for the first time all over again. He hadn’t seen her like that since the Stoneheart battle. “But I wasn’t ready.”

“Ladybug.” He said. He didn’t know what else to say. He said her name again soon after anyway, his voice much gentler than it was before. He bent down to her level.

“ _Ladybug_.”

“I’m not sorry for trying what I did. We’re heroes, sometimes we need to make risky decisions like that.”

“I know.” He said.

He couldn’t stop looking at her.

“I’d do it again.”

His knees were on the floor.

“I know.”

“ _But,_ ” She glanced up and looked almost shocked to see him so close to her. She hadn’t noticed his change of position. His face was only a few inches away from hers and she took a deep breath. He felt it brush the tip of his nose. “I’m sorry for not being a good partner to you. I should’ve talked to you first. I should’ve listened to what you had to say. I’m sorry for worrying you like that.”

Her voice cracked a little at the end and the gloss in her eyes made the blue sparkle.

He hugged her.

“Thank you, my Lady. Thank you.” He whispered, his long arms wrapped around her petite body with his right hand rested on the back of her head. He was holding her tight and close and he was smiling in her shoulder.

A small gasp left her lips and her whole body tensed from surprise.

“I’m sorry too. For getting so worked up.” He spoke again, Ladybug still quiet. “And you’re not a bad partner. You’re strong, and smart, and amazing. I couldn’t do it without you.”

He really believed that.

Her arms finally wrapped themselves around him, and his heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. Her nose was touching his neck. Her fingers curled gently onto his back. His stomach was in knots.

“Talk to me more, okay?” He said, his face heating up, his fingers tangling in her hair.

He felt her nod.

“Okay.”

* * *

 

The lunch bell rang, and Nino had to shake his friend in order to catch his attention. Adrien had been staring down at his notes with his left hand holding his cheek and his right sketching small ladybugs at the corner of his paper. He was still thinking about Wednesday night. How could he not?

When they had pulled away from their embrace, his partner had a small smile resting on her lips matching his own. He had hugged her, and she hadn’t pushed him away.

They had a moment and Ladybug didn’t seem discomforted by it.

He wondered if she felt the beating of his heart. They were so close, she could’ve and that made his stomach turn delightfully.

She may not be in love with him, but their bond in general did deepen. He felt it.

Did Ladybug?

“ _Hello._ Earth to Adrien?”

Adrien returned to reality at the sight of his friend’s hand waving in front of his face.

“Oh, sorry bro. Zoned out a bit.”

Nino chuckled, and the blond began to pack his things in his bag.

“Yeah, I can see that.”

After their conversation that night, he and Ladybug decided to patrol. That’s when she started telling him more details about Master Fu. She told him that he wanted to meet Adrien, that she’d message him later that month with a date, time, and address.

He still hadn’t received anything and if it wasn’t for the moment with his Lady, he would’ve been much more nervous than delighted.

Adrien was out of his seat and placed his bag over his shoulder.

“Yo guys,” He looked at the door and saw Alix leaning against it, her phone in hand. A few remaining classmates were walking passed her. “Kim, Max, and I are heading to a café. You know, the one by that tourist stand that sells the miniature Eiffel Towers. Wanna join?”

An immediate smile grew on his lips and he was about to open his mouth to respond with a ‘yes’ until his best friend beat him to it.

“Thanks Alix, but we’ve already got plans.” Adrien glanced at his friend with a look of disbelief and confusion, but Nino ignored him. “Another day though.”  

Alix nodded before saluting the two of them and walking off.

“We do?” He asked. Nino walked up to him and put his arm over his shoulder. They were the last ones in the room.

“Alya texted me this morning that her mom brought home leftovers from one of her catering gigs. So, hell yeah we do.”

They began to walk into the hall and Adrien’s bright smile returned. Since Alya’s mother is one of the cooks at Le Grande Paris, whenever he visited Chloe she would always cook them these fantastic dishes that put the cooks in his own home to shame. He felt his mouth begin to water at the mere thought of her boeuf bourguignon. He hadn’t had it in months.  

“Do you know what the leftovers are?” He asked while Nino’s eyes scanned the school for their friends.

“Nope, but does it matter? I’m ready to get into a food coma, my man.”

Adrien chuckled at that and nodded in agreement.

They eventually found them by the lockers, Marinette getting ready to shove a textbook in her own with an amused smile on her face as Alya spoke to her. Adrien couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but he smiled along with them either way.

He hadn’t seen Marinette in a while. At least as Chat Noir anyway. So, it felt nice to be in her presence. The girl was a very optimistic and charismatic individual and Adrien felt that whenever he was near her. 

“Hey guys.” Nino greeted, his arm still over Adrien’s shoulder.

The two looked over at them and when Marinette’s eyes landed on him she immediately flinched, and her book slipped from her fingertips. However, impressively, she reacted quickly and grabbed it before it could land on the floor. Though, her movements weren’t exactly smooth. She looked like a clumsy ballerina with one of her legs sticking up in the air and the other bent low, trying to keep herself balanced.

Adrien’s smile became more forced. And he leaned closer into Nino.

“Hey.” He said shyly.

Alya walked to them and flashed them a bright grin.

“Hey! You guys ready to go?”

Nino removed his arm from Adrien and gave the girl two thumbs up.

“Ready as we’ll ever be!”

After sending the Gorilla and Nathalie a quick text concerning his whereabouts they headed over to Alya’s place. They went to her apartment by foot, the four practically huddled together as they all chatted about Alya’s mom and some assignments that they each had due the following week.

It was nice. The sun was out, it wasn’t too hot, the conversation was light and easy, and Adrien felt content. However, he did notice how quiet Marinette seemed to be. She had been walking next to him the whole time. And even though she would continuously stare at him, whenever he’d look at her to ask what was on her mind, she’d turn away quickly and would avoid as much eye contact as possible.

She made a few comments here-and-there to add to their conversation, but she was distant - from him specifically. She always seemed to be when they would hang out. He wondered if she was still mad at him for the gum incident. Or if she possibly didn’t like him because he was still friends with Chloe.

Or maybe his theory was right. Maybe this had something to do with her crush.

Maybe Marinette still didn’t trust him.

Either way, all the possibilities saddened him. But, he refused to give up. He was a hero after all. And heroes never quit.

_I’m going to friend her so hard._

Once they got to Alya’s place the four placed their things on the wooden floor right beside her brown couch. Nino and Adrien immediately sat themselves down, and Adrien couldn’t help but stare at the décor. They were practically surrounded by several plants that Adrien didn’t know the names of and several pieces of framed artwork and photographs of animals. He remembered then that Alya’s father worked at the zoo and it made the whole setup that much cooler.

He felt like he was at a museum. He couldn’t help but tell Alya that.

She chuckled, and he realized that the two girls were right behind them in the small kitchen getting the food prepared for them.

“Thanks! And yeah, my dad really loves to bring his work home with him. But I agree, it does look pretty awesome.”  

He stood up and turned to face them. Nino was too busy checking a text to notice.

“Do you two need any help? I’m being so rude-“

“It’s fine, Adrien. You’re my guest. Just relax, and no worries. Marinette may be clumsy, but she is really helpful when I need her to be.”

“You know I’m right here, right?” Marinette responded, utensils in her hands and a forced pout on her lips.

Adrien would’ve thought she was cute if he had allowed that thought to linger in his mind for more than the millisecond that it had. Instead he chuckled.

“Yup!” Alya said, with her eyes now on the several tupperware spread across the counter in front of her.

Adrien and Nino eventually helped, the four of them working like a well-organized team. Alya handed Nino the plates, Nino would then scoop up a portion of the food and place it on each one, Adrien would microwave each dish, and Marinette would place them on the table beside the set of utensils and cups.

Neither of them really spoke as they ate since the food was that delicious. They mostly communicated in mutual hums and nods, the four too submerged in their own states of euphoria to say or do much else.

Alya’s mother had never cooked her poulet basquaise when he visited Chloe. He wasn’t sure if that dish was even on their menu. But he knew that he was going to _casually_ suggest the dish to Chloe the next time he had the chance.

The food was comforting and warm in his stomach like an embrace from a mother. He knew that Chloe would love it too, though she probably wouldn’t admit it. She’d probably do that thing where she said something wasn’t _totally_ dreadful without making any eye contact with the person she was talking to when she secretly enjoyed it. That was the highest form of praise you could get from the girl.

Adrien found that both amusing and slightly endearing.

“Alya, would it be rude of me to just nap right here the rest of the day?” Nino said, his body slumped back into the chair with his hands rested on his stomach.

“Yes, yes it would.”

“But my limbs feel like jello. I can’t move.”

Adrien chuckled and placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. They were seated right next to each other, so it was easy for him to do so.

“You need me to carry you?” He asked, being completely serious.

Nino glanced over at him and smiled tiredly.

“You see my best friend right here guys,” He said, placing his own hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “He’s the actual physical embodiment of sunshine.”

Adrien felt himself blush and removed his hand from Nino’s shoulder to hide his face.

“ _Oh my god I am not_.”

“ _Dude._ Accept it.”

“ _Dude_!”

He heard Marinette giggle and for some reason that made the flush in his face deepen.

“Nino, stop flirting with your boyfriend and help me clear the table.”

“Yes ma’am!”

Once again, all four of them wound up helping. This time, Nino emptied the leftover food from the plates in the trash, Alya wiped down the table, and Marinette and Adrien were in charge of the washing and drying of the dishes. At first, Adrien was the one that was washing, but Marinette kept returning the dishes to him to rinse once more since he continuously missed a few crumbs. She eventually offered shyly to switch duties and he agreed.  

He’d walked around her and stood on her right while she then stood in front of the sink. The towel was still in her hands, so she gave it to him. His fingers briskly touched hers for less than a second when doing so and Marinette’s face reddened immediately. She didn’t say anything. Adrien didn’t say anything either, though, his heart was beginning to beat much faster which lead him to wonder if she was able to hear it. He felt like it was tying to talk to her through his chest.

He didn’t want to know why that was. He didn’t trust himself enough to think about it, so he didn’t.

It took them only a few minutes to clean everything, but it felt longer. The drying rack was only a few inches away from him, so when Marinette would hand him something to dry he’d only lean his body slightly to the right to set it down. However, the thing was that him and the girl were standing close to each other. Very close.  

Whenever she’d turn just a tad to give him a dish or a utensil, her shoulder would brush his bicep. Nino and Alya were laughing and talking about something somewhere else in the kitchen. And Adrien and Marinette were quiet, standing there in front of a sink, cleaning and waiting for that brush, that _touch_.

Marinette stopped looking him in the eye when she’d turn to him. Adrien wondered why neither of them were creating more distance between them. He could’ve easily moved closer to the rack, just a few steps to the right would stop the contact. But he didn’t.

Neither did she.

They weren’t like this when he was Chat Noir. Sure, sometimes they were doing their own thing quietly. Marinette would be checking something on her computer and Chat would be writing ideas down on a paper that she’d given him. But nothing more than that. It was a comfortable silence between friends.

But, he wasn’t sure if Marinette even considered _Adrien_ as a friend. So, he wasn’t sure what to call this.

“M, you two finished yet?”  

The teens practically jumped at the sound of Alya’s voice and Adrien almost dropped the fork in his hand. The two glanced over at the sink and noticed that they were in fact done. All Adrien had to do was place the utensil down on the rack, and they were finished.

“Y-yeah.” Marinette responded, clearing her throat as she turned off the faucet. Adrien finally put the fork away. They still weren’t looking at each other and were both turned around completely, facing Alya who was standing in front of them.

“Well come on then! I want to ask your opinions on my new blog skin.”

Adrien nodded and the three walked over to Alya’s room. Marinette walked ahead of him, her arm looped through Alya’s.

The contact was gone.

* * *

 

Alya’s room was nice. Though it was small, it was cozy and warm. And Adrien wondered if Alya would let him read one of the many comic books she had in the bookcase behind her bed. However, since it was his first visit in her home he decided not to ask.

_Another time._

Instead, he continued to listen to her and Nino’s playful banter as he stood behind her desk chair, his hands in his pockets with Nino on his left and Marinette on his right. Nino kept leaning his face closer to Alya, bending himself down to her level so she could look at him.

“I’m just asking why you won’t make the background polka dots. It’s a blog about Ladybug.” He said.

“It’s tacky. And this isn’t like a simple tumblr blog. It’s professional. It has to look professional.”

“You have a fanfiction recommendation link.”

“And?”

Adrien couldn’t really see Alya’s expression, but he didn’t think it mattered. Because when she turned her head to look at Nino, their faces were only inches apart. And as expected, his friend blushed furiously and stood himself up, stepping himself back just a little.

“A-and nothing.”

Alya cleared her throat after a few seconds and turned back to face the screen, deliberately trying to avoid Nino’s gaze that now wouldn’t leave her.

Adrien couldn’t help it, he chuckled. And after a gentle elbow nudge from the other boy, he shrugged, still amused, and glanced over at Marinette.

She was still quiet, but she had one eyebrow quirked with a knowing smirk on her face as she stared down at her best friend.

“Speaking of which, Adrien, I updated my list and was wondering if you could tell me what you think.” Alya finally spoke once more. Adrien’s smile dropped, and his expression altered to one of curiosity.

“Hmm?”

“My fanfiction rec list! You’ve mentioned that you’ve read a few, right?”

_Oh. OH._

He looked over at Nino again, not really sure why, but when Nino shrugged, he nodded, and a small smile spread on his lips.

“Yeah. Not that many though.” He finally responded, half-lying. 

Adrien hadn’t read any new stories in a while, but he did know how flooded his bookmark page was. From one-shots, to one-hundred thousand worded fics, he practically had them all. And maybe if this was another situation where it was just him and Alya, he would’ve brought the list out - recommended away and hope that she’d actually read his favorites, so he finally had someone to talk about them with. But he knew how uncomfortable the other two in the room got about that, so he decided to bluff.

Alya pressed the link, and what seemed to be hundreds of endless titles popped up. Adrien’s eyes widened in awe and he knew that he was definitely going to visit the Ladyblog once he got home.

“Wow.” He said, Nino having moved aside and allowed the blond to take his place to take a look at the screen. He was on the left of the reporter, the two having simply smiled at each other before turning their gazes back to the computer once she noticed his close presence. 

“These are all _my_ recommendations along with some from the fans. Took me a few weeks to organize and post everything, but it’s finally completed. All with links, titles, authors, and even reviews if you scroll to the right.”

She looked very proud of herself, and Adrien felt that she had every right to feel so. His friend was very dedicated to her blog, and it definitely showed.

“It came out great, Alya.” Marinette finally spoke, her hands going to her best friend’s shoulders, giving her a joyful squeeze.

Adrien nodded in agreement and Nino hummed.

“Thanks guys! And I couldn’t have done it without Marinette over here. She helped me format everything.”

 _‘Of course she did.’_ He thought.

_Because Marinette is kind and helpful._

He didn’t realize he was staring at the blue-eyed girl until she looked right back at him. Her eyes widened, but she refused to look away. Her eyebrows scrunched up just a tad, very quickly. And Adrien knew that it meant that she was feeling determined. She was determined to look at him. For what reason, he wasn’t sure. But he continued either way, feeling a shy smile spread on his lips before she reflected his expression.

Her cheeks were tinted a bright red and Nino cleared his throat.

Their second moment was over.

Adrien wasn’t sure why he was counting.

Alya continued to scroll through the list and after a while of zoning out, Adrien decided to actually pay attention to what she was showing him. She was talking about _Late Night Hour,_ and how she was at first conflicted whether or not to even add it in.

She had given it three-and-a-half stars out of five.

Marinette told her that people were going to complain about the rating.

Nino seemed to still be lost about everything, but paid attention nonetheless.

“They’re lucky I even added it in.” Alya said.

“Do you hate it _that_ much?” Marinette asked, her voice sounding slightly amused.

“It’s well written, don’t get me wrong. And it started off amazingly. But I don’t like how they characterize Ladybug. It just bothers me so much.”

“Why? Because they wrote her with insecurities instead of as an immortal goddess that feels nothing?” Marinette continued.

Adrien coughed.

“Ladybug is a strong woman! And strong women _do_ have insecurities and flaws. But she wrote her personality revolving almost completely around that.”

“Maybe that’s just her interpretation. I mean neither of us even know how Ladybug actually is.”

“I’ve spoken to her before, M. She’s not like that. Ladybug isn’t dependent on anyone for validation. She’s confident and is inspiring to people that look up to her, to people that aren’t as strong. It’s just… it’s important to me.”

Marinette didn’t say anything for a while and the room was silent. Adrien wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, but he was just at a loss for words. He agreed with his friend. Ladybug was independent and strong, and he’s content that she had a following filled with people as kind and dedicated as Alya. He wished his partner could’ve heard her. She would’ve given the girl one of those soft smiles of hers. The one that’s brighter than the sun and softer than cotton.  

 She probably would’ve patted her shoulder and thanked her with a gentle and humble voice as well. And Adrien’s heart would’ve swelled.

But Ladybug’s not there.

Marinette squeezed Alya’s shoulder like before, but in an understanding manner. They looked at each other and Adrien saw a familiar soft expression form on her face. She didn’t say anything, but his chest felt as if she did.

He shook his head.

Alya turned back to the screen.

“And anyway, who needs _Late Night Hour_ when we have _The Empty Streets of Paris_. Right, Adrien?”

Both Adrien and Marinette tensed at her words. Nino groaned.

He laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Y-yeah.”

Alya smirked at him, _smirked_. And Adrien could practically _feel_ Marinette’s gaze on him. Nino walked himself over to Alya’s bed and took his phone out.

“I wonder why FelineGood hasn’t updated.”

“It’s only been like two weeks.” Marinette said.

Adrien gulped.

Had it really been that long?

“Yeah, but she usually notifies everyone on her tumblr. And she hasn’t said anything since the last time she updated.”

Adrien’s embarrassment transformed into guilt. He fought the urge to duck his head. He’d been too preoccupied with his hero duties that he had truthfully forgotten. It felt like he updated only a few days ago. He wondered if he should apologize to his followers later that night or wait to do so another day since Alya could get suspicious.  

“They’re probably busy.”

_Bless Marinette’s soul._

“Yeah,” Alya sighed. “I’m just really excited because I sense that Chat Noir and Ladybug are finally going to kiss next chapter.”

Adrien’s knees almost gave out. He placed his hand on her desk to keep himself balanced. His face was so flushed he wasn’t sure if he should’ve hid it or not. He really wished Nino would stop playing his app and join them, so he could change the subject. But sadly, Nino had a small smile in his face with his tongue slightly poked out. Meaning that he was too immersed in his game and wasn’t going to return to reality for a while.    

He almost groaned at the thought.

“How are you so sure?” Marinette said.

“The foreshadowing was all there in the most recent chapter. Didn’t you read, girl?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t get that feeling.” Marinette practically whispered the last part and Adrien felt like he was going to explode.

He laughed awkwardly instead because he was lame and never learned how to react when you were unintentionally and unknowingly called out. Did he mean to foreshadow their future kissing scene last chapter? Yes. Alya was right about that. He made Felix look at Ladybug’s lips much more than was necessary. Ladybug stroked Chat Noir’s face near the bottom of his cheek, slowly dragging her finger closer to his bottom lip when he was hurt. But he didn’t think he’d have to write the kissing scene the very next chapter. Were people expecting that?

Was he prolonging the inevitable because of his own insecurities? How was he supposed to write something he never experienced, especially with the love of his life?

“Adrien?”

He wasn’t sure who called him, but he looked at the girls anyway. He realized that he was still rubbing the back of his neck, so he stopped.

“Yes?”

Alya rose her right brow in confusion and Marinette’s hand hid half of her face. He could only see her right eye that had a few hair strands falling over it.

“Do you think Ladybug and Chat Noir are gonna finally make out next chapter?”

“Alya!”

“It’s a question, Mari! He reads the story too!”

She fixed her glasses quickly and looked at him once more.

_Oh my god what is she thinking?_

“I don’t know? M-maybe! They did tag it as a slow-burn though. It may take a while.”

_A long while._

“It’s the seventeenth chapter. Usually in fics they’ve kissed by now.”

Adrien rubbed his bicep and nodded his head.

“Yeah. You’re right.” He chuckled nervously. “You’re right.”

Marinette observed him silently before she leaned her mouth down to Alya’s ear, whispering something. Even though the two were only inches away from them, he could only make out a few words. But nothing sounded completely coherent.

Did Marinette think the same as Alya? Was he taking too long? Would he lose readers if he didn’t speed things up? A load of questions entered his mind. He would ask Plagg about it if he didn’t already know how the kwami would answer.

Plagg would probably tell him to do what he wanted and then ask for more cheese. And that wasn’t good enough of a response. He needed a real opinion.

“Marinette.” He said, without really thinking about it.

He leaned the left side of his body more towards Alya’s desk and slid his hands into his pockets. The girl’s head turned faster than he thought it would. Her eyes widened, and her lips were separated.

“Yes gorg- _A-Adrien_?!”

Her body was straightened and upright once more, her hands at her sides and her shoulders back as if she were waiting for Adrien to unfreeze her or something.  

“Do _you_ think they should kiss next chapter?”

He could’ve easily waited till the next time he saw her as his alter ego. Where it’d be normal to ask her. Where she wouldn’t be looking at him the way she was. But he couldn’t help himself. He had the strong urge to ask her right then, to hear what was on her mind, and he just went with it.

Marinette was stunned into silence and Adrien wasn’t sure if he had said something wrong. She was just _staring_. And he was unsure what to do. Did he offend her in any way?

He was about to open his mouth until he saw Alya tap Marinette’s forearm and the girl finally reacted by giggling nervously, forcefully.  

“Ugh- I _no._ I mean maybe! Yes? Ugh?! It could happen? As it does… between people. I-in stories! Not in real life because,” She started twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “Chat Noir and Ladybug aren’t going to kiss there, _here_!”

He took her answer as a maybe and nodded to himself, humming as he did so. Marinette wasn’t fond of the idea of him and his partner having a romantic relationship, but he was writing a love story, so she was probably expecting the kiss to happen at some point. She seemed much too nervous to give him an exact answer when he was Adrien, so he decided to wait until he saw her later that week as Chat to get her to elaborate, possibly help him come up with an outline.

Maybe she could help him write the kissing scene.

Maybe it wouldn’t be hard for her because she had experience. Maybe she’d already kissed her crush.

Maybe she’d thought about kissing them.

Adrien turned away from her, a small frown on his face.

Maybe he didn’t want to ask her after all.

Nino finally walked himself back up to them and placed his arm around the boy’s shoulder.

“Guys, are you finally done talking about this fanfiction stuff? I’m bored.”

* * *

 

Adrien was wearing his nice shoes. The shiny burgundy loafers his father got him for their business trip to Germany a year ago. He’d only worn them twice, but they were still much cleaner than his usual orange sneakers.

Ladybug had finally sent him the info for his meet-up with the man a few days ago. She notified him on a Tuesday when he was about to go to sleep. Plagg told him that she was trying to contact him, and he quickly transformed in his bathroom to see her message.

He recognized the street, but not the building. Ladybug told him to go as his civilian self. She wasn’t going to be with him that time. This Master Fu guy wanted to speak with him alone.

He wasn’t sure what to expect since his Lady didn’t give him anymore info than that. She did say he was nice that one night when they had their talk, but if he was also the one that gave them their powers, Adrien expected him to be a powerful man. And he couldn’t meet a powerful man with two-year old beat up sneakers that were starting to fit snug on his feet.

He was actually planning to wear a much more professional looking outfit, but Plagg told him that he would look like he was trying too hard and that he’d laugh at him. So, he stuck with the shoes.

He felt antsy practically that whole week. He wasn’t sure what he’d be able to say or what he could ask. His mind continuously flooded itself with constant questions and he kept organizing them from most to least important. So, if he _was_ allowed to ask questions, at least he’d be prepared.

Master Fu wanted to have tea with him. That’s what the message also said.

During the day.

And Master Fu didn’t want to meet Chat Noir. He wanted to meet _Adrien._

What if he knew who his father was?

What if that was the only reason why he chose Adrien?

He wouldn’t be surprised.

“You need to calm down, kid.” Plagg muttered from the inside of his shirt.

He stood in front of the shop.

It was his lunch break. He’d have to return to school later that day with new information. He wondered how overwhelmed he was going to be in about an hour. Maybe two. The Gorilla had dropped him off. Nathalie told him that he’d pick him up when he was done. And he was honestly surprised that his “massage” excuse actually worked. He told her that he was feeling tired again and that he heard that Master Fu could help him relax. And she actually signed off on it. Meaning his father did.

He was only a few feet away from the man that changed his life.

His hands were sweating.

“ _Adrien_. Are we going in or what?”

The teen finally shook his head, bringing himself back to reality. He nodded and took a deep breath when he realized that Plagg couldn’t see him.

“Yeah… _Yeah_.”

There was a bell on the door that rang when he finally walked inside. The store was much smaller than he expected. It was quaint and had wooden floors that practically sparkled. He was glad he wore his loafers.

“Adrien Agreste?”

He jumped - he couldn’t help it - at the sound of a voice that evidently belonged to an elderly man. His eyes searched for the body that it belonged to, expecting someone much taller than what he was introduced to.

He was short, was wearing a red and white Hawaiian button-up shirt, and a warm smile that made the corners of his moustache quirk up.  

He quickly bowed to the man, his arms straightened at his sides.

“Hello, Master Fu! I am Adrien Agreste! It is a pleasure to meet you!”

His eyes were closed, shut tightly with his hands forming into fists.

Master Fu chuckled, and Adrien felt a small hand pat the top of his head. His eyes finally opened, and he slowly returned to his previous position, straightening himself up.

“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you too-“ His gray eyebrows rose up quickly before he walked passed the boy, going to the entrance of the store and locking it before turning himself back around, his smile returning. “Chat Noir.”

Adrien knew that Master Fu knew who he was, but he still couldn’t help but gasp at the sound of his other name. He never expected to hear it when he was de-transformed. He hadn’t expected anyone to know who he was.

“Come. Come. We have much to discuss, and I’m sure you have a few questions that you’d like to ask me.”

Adrien didn’t realize that he was holding in a breath until he finally released one. Master Fu walked ahead of him and he couldn’t help but smile in relief. He was lead into a room that had a very serene feeling to it as soon as he entered it. It smelled of incense and Adrien wasn’t sure if the man made it so because he knew that Adrien was going to be nervous or because it was for his clients.   

Master Fu told him to sit down on the ground right in front of the large white Japanese futon that was near the center of the room and he obliged. 

The older man sat on the corner, resting his cane on the ground next to his feet.

“You have a very nice store, sir.”  

He nodded.

“You are nervous.”

Adrien didn’t expect his blunt response, so he forced out a chuckle.

“Am I that obvious?”

Master Fu didn’t say anything, his smile just widened, and Adrien took that as a _yes._ He sighed.

“Was…was Ladybug nervous?” He asked.

“We are here today to speak of _you_.”  

“Right. I’m sorry.”

Even though his Lady wasn’t there, just thinking about her calmed him down, held him closer to the ground. And if he found it to be true that one of the most courageous people he’d ever met was as antsy as he was in the same situation, he would’ve felt much more confident in a matter of seconds.

But alas, Master Fu was equally as private as his partner, perhaps even more so. So, he had to muster up the confidence from somewhere else.

He was understanding of the situation, however. He wasn’t sure if he’d want Ladybug to know just how nervous he was if their roles were switched.

“It’s fine. Curiosity is a common trait to have when you are young.”

“Yes.”

“And in love.”

Adrien was thankful that the man hadn’t prepared the tea yet. If he had a cup in his hand, he knew that the warm liquid would’ve probably fallen all over him and the rest of the room. 

His mouth opened instead, however, quickly closing once he realized that he had no idea what to even respond. His cheeks were a bright red that he feared would stain his skin for the remainder of their meeting.

Master Fu continued, saying nothing of his reaction, but instead smiling once more as if he understood.

“Adrien, you must be wondering why I wished to speak with you today. Why I asked Ladybug to keep certain information from you.”

His smile wasn’t completely gone, but it was still there. However, it was now one more of acknowledgement and patience. His wrinkled hands were on his knees and his legs were crossed over each other. He looked so balanced and sure himself. Sort of like his father, but with a much warmer, open, and less forced feeling lingering around him.  

Adrien’s shoulders fell slightly. His cheeks were still burning but much less now.

He nodded just a little.

“Yes, Master Fu. When Ladybug told me about you, I thought that you possibly didn’t trust me enough to share those secrets.” He said, deciding to be honest with the man since he seemed trusting enough.

“That’s understandable. The secrets of the Miraculous can not be shared with just anybody,”

Adrien felt his heart begin to sink.

“ _But_ , that is not the case here. I was never planning to meet either you nor your partner in my lifetime. My role as the guardian of the Miraculous is to choose the holders when the world needs them most and nothing more. The secrets are supposed to die with me and only be passed onto the next holder of the turtle Miraculous.”

Before Adrien could ask, the man held up his right wrist, showing off a unique looking bracelet that Adrien hadn’t noticed before. His eyes sparkled at the sight and his lips separated when he returned his gaze upon him. The realization hit him like a speeding car.

_Another superhero._

“Ladybug, however, ran into some trouble and her kwami lead her to me. It could not be helped. Having even one person know about my existence was a great risk. So having two-“

Adrien nodded before the man could finish, an apologetic smile forming on his lips.

“I understand now. Thank you for explaining.”

Master Fu nodded back. Adrien guessed that nodding was going to be their thing. If he were allowed to come back that is.

“You make a rather fine Chat Noir, Adrien. One that is truly worthy of the ring. And that is why I am now trusting you with this information.”

He grabbed his cane and leaned his body forward just a tad, using the tip of the wooden walking stick to poke at Adrien’s chest.

“Your heart is in the right place. And that is why I chose you. And after much thought, it is also the main reason why I had decided to break the rules and speak with a Chat Noir for the first time.”

Adrien didn’t know where to look. His chest felt light and he wished he could tell his mom everything that happened once he got home later that day. He wished that he’d be able to even confess one word. He wished that she’d be there waiting for him in the first place.  

But he couldn’t.

And for once, that desire – reminder- didn’t sadden him. Because even though a bright light of his was missing, a new one was shining right before him.

“Thank you, sir. I…I am very humbled by your words.”

He truly was.

They did their _thing_ again before Master Fu rested his cane back on the ground.

“That being said, the last time I spoke with Ladybug we spoke of meeting again in the near future with you included.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes. I’m aware that she informed you of your Miraculous’ locked powers. As I am aware of how she tried to acquire them.”

Adrien didn’t say anything. He ducked his head slightly. Him and his Lady _did_ have a conversation about that battle. They _did_ talk it over. But it still _did_ bother him. He’d almost lost one of his best friends. And that wasn’t something he could easily forget.

“I take full responsibility for her choice that day. I should have let her discovered the secret of those powers on her own. She is still much too young, still too inexperienced to even _attempt_ what she had. And the same goes for you.”

“Yes, I understand. Ladybug and I had spoken about what had happened and she told me that she’d be more careful next time. And so will I.” He said, his right hand forming into a fist on his lap.

“And that you will. Because I would like to train you two.” Adrien’s eyes widened. “I’ve decided that I’m going to educate you both on the rights, wrongs, hows, and whys, of your abilities. If either of you are going to attempt to do anything as dangerous as that again, I want you to at least be prepared and more mindful of the consequences that you may face.”

Adrien yet again was left speechless by the man. All he could do was stare. All he could do was _attempt_ to repress the sudden burst of excitement that entered his chest and twisted his stomach.

“You may be heroes, but you are both still children and therefore, my responsibility. You can achieve your goals without having to sacrifice yourself. However, it’ll take time.”

Adrien nodded.

Master Fu’s expression was still serious, but slightly amused by Adrien’s evident enthusiasm.

“Three feet of ice is not formed in a single day, Adrien.”

“Yes, sir! I will make sure to put all I have in our training!”

“Good. Our next meeting will be with Ladybug, so we can discuss a fitting schedule for all three of us then.”

Adrien nodded.

The man nodded back and they both smiled at each other.

“Now, I think Plagg should reveal himself. Wayzz wishes to speak with him as well. Would you like oolong or jasmine?”

* * *

It was Friday night and Adrien was in Marinette’s room, suited up and sleepy. He had notified his followers on Tuesday that he was going to update sometime that weekend, so he was pushing himself to finish the chapter as quickly as he could. He only had the first two scenes written and they weren’t as long as he usually made them.

Marinette was reading his words on her computer through his email that he had decided to make for that sole purpose. If he was stuck on a scene he’d email it to himself, let her read it, and she’d be able to help him in a more precise manner.  

He was pacing back and forth, his knuckle in-between his teeth as he stared at the back of her swivel chair. He didn’t allow himself to sit right beside her. If he saw her expression or _lack_ of expression, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to refrain from asking several questions before she could even finish reading one sentence.

“Okay, so I have a few things to say.”

Chat’s cat ears and tail perked up immediately and he practically ran to her side.

“Yes?”

His left hand was on her chair and his right was on the edge of her desk, his eyes completely set on the girl that was stroking her chin in thought like a cartoon character. He saw her scroll through the document for a few seconds - the sound of her moving mouse agonizing to the boy - before she finally stopped at a certain part. There were two sentences highlighted and Chat began to tap his claws against the surface of her desk impatiently.   

“Here, you said that Ladybug stroked his _bare_ right arm gently. And that he found it comforting.”

“Yeah. Is there a problem with that?”

“Well, didn’t Felix break his right arm in the battle last chapter? He should have a cast.”

Adrien’s eyes widened, and he immediately smacked his forehead in both embarrassment and realization.

“ _Oh my god. I completely forgot_.”

He usually skimmed through his most recently updated chapter before writing a new one to remind him of a few things he may not have remembered. However, he felt like he was in such a rush to finish that he didn’t have any time. Besides, he enjoyed writing the last chapter so much so that he thought he remembered practically every detail from it. But, he was mistaken.

She finally looked at him and gave him a small smile.

“Thank god I came to you. It would’ve been so embarrassing if I wrote the rest and posted it just like that.” He said.

She hummed and he looked back at the screen.

“I didn’t make any other mistakes like that did I?”

She shrugged tiredly.

“There were a few grammar mistakes that I fixed but given the whole cast situation, I’m guessing you’re going to have to rewrite everything anyway.”

He sighed.

“Yeah. I’m going to have to add in details about the pain in his arm and make Ladybug more careful when touching him.”

“Felix would probably have to miss a few patrols too. Maybe a few battles as well so he could heal properly.”

Chat turned his head and looked down at her, an eyebrow raised.

“Felix is still going to patrol and battle if he’s needed.”

“His arm is _broken_. That would be an idiotic move.”

“How so?”

Marinette looked at him as if he were some sort of alien she’d never seen before. Her eyebrows furrowed, her eyes squinted, and her face looked generally more scrunched together than it usually did.  

“He’s hurt. He could injure himself even more and what good would that do?”

“Well, he’d still be helping. And that’s what’s most important.”

Marinette scooted her swivel chair closer to him, and Chat felt his eyes widen just a tad. She was now only a few inches away from him, her neck stretched out as she stared up at him so he could really look at her. Her lips were formed in a pout, her face was so close to his and his body wouldn’t move away. He just waited for her to do _something_.

What that something was he wasn’t sure.

“Are you telling me,” She began, her breaths hitting his face like a light gentle wind.  “that if your arm was broken you’d still fight?”

The mixture of frustration and concern that was suddenly apparent on her face made his own face heat up. He had the urge to look away from her but refused to give in to it.  He cleared his throat instead and finally stood himself up correctly, so he could place one of his hands on his hips. 

“Yes, I would.” He said.

“Ladybug wouldn’t allow that.”

_She probably wouldn’t._

“Well, Ladybug’s not the boss of me. I’m my own cat.” He declared stubbornly, deciding to puff out his chest a little to show his friend how serious and macho he was.  

It didn’t seem to work, however, since a hint of annoyance seeped into her eyes.

“So then, _hero_. If Ladybug herself broke her arm and wanted to fight, you’re telling me that you’d respect her wishes and let her go on?”

He opened his mouth to respond, but once the words ran through his mind, he dropped his shoulders and stayed quiet.

Marinette gave him a victorious smirk and he rolled his eyes before crossing his arms over his chest.

“That’s different.” He mumbled.

“It isn’t. You know it isn’t.”

He didn’t respond.

She continued to smile, and he finally sighed in defeat before she finally moved her chair back to its previous place.

“So, what do you suggest I do about this chapter if he can’t fight?”

She shrugged once more, her pigtails that were rested over her shoulders moving along with the action. This time he leaned his back against her desk with his arms still crossed.

“You can always do a time lapse. But a broken arm usually takes a few months to fully heal. So, I don’t know what that would do to Felix and Bridgette’s development.”

“It would be weird.”

“Yeah.”

They both stared at each other in thought, speaking out their thoughts aloud through eyebrow raises and silent lip movements. It was an odd yet natural seeming conversation, and if Adrien wasn’t so worried about his chapter he probably would’ve laughed and teased her about the way her tongue seemed to always poke out when she was thinking.

It went on like that a for a few minutes until Marinette’s eyes suddenly widened and she smiled this determined and brilliant smile where her teeth showed, and her cheeks lifted her eyes. He felt almost startled by it.

“Alya, was talking to me about these stories that are tagged with _hurt_ and _comfort_. She told me it was a major trope where one character gets either physically or emotionally hurt and the other takes care of them and is supportive!”

Adrien began to smile.

“Yes, I’ve read a few fics like that!”

“So maybe you can write Ladybug or Bridgette taking care of him and-”

“They get closer!” He finished, his hands now on her shoulders. He squeezed them lightly, happiness and relief radiating off of him like sunshine.

Marinette didn’t respond, but he didn’t notice.

“You’re brilliant, Marinette! Thank you!”

The girl just nodded slowly, before she turned her chair forward, so she could face the screen completely, shaking Chat’s hands off in the process. She coughed and opened a new document.

“Yes, um no problem.”

He started to spit out ideas soon after, and she began to type them as he spoke. Organizing his thoughts into bullet points as she planned to email them to him later, so he could look them over when he was going to write back at home.

They spoke of different ideas, the two getting inspiration from the other and adding on until the chapter began to illustrate itself right before them in great detail. They laughed about the puns each of them had come up with to add in to keep the chapter light-hearted. They high-fived or fist bumped when the other came up with a great way to describe the setting or a random quote that would fit either Bridgette or Felix. They grinned at each other whenever they’d scroll through the pages of bullet points, the two happy that the chapter was beginning to write itself - happy that they were able to achieve all of this together.

There wasn’t a full moon out that night, however, it felt like there was. The light gleaming in from Marinette’s window right in front of them acted almost like a lamp, illuminating the two and making their expressions of happiness all the more evident.

The boy knew that Marinette wasn’t completely comfortable with him as Adrien, and he still hadn’t had even the slightest idea as to why. But it still made him happy to at least have the moments that he had with her when he was suited up. Moments like this. 

Moments where they were in their own secret little world, where the only sounds were their voices and Adrien’s heartbeat.

He wondered what would happen to their world if her crush reciprocated her feelings.

Would they replace Chat during those dark and peaceful nights on his friend’s chaise? Would she lend them her father’s comfortable hoodie and make them hot chocolate at two in the morning while she spoke to them about a new design or about a new Jagged Stone song?

Would she even want to see Chat again?

What about Adrien?

His smile faded, and he stared at her. She was typing something down, something he had said. She was adding on to it and explaining it. He saw her mouth moving, however, he wasn’t paying attention. She seemed to notice this since after a while, she called his name. And when he didn’t react too quickly, she touched his arm.

“Hmm?” He said.

“You alright?”

He nodded.

“Was just thinking about the scene where Ladybug is gonna hold Felix’s hand.”

“Oh? Do you want to take it out or-“

“Nah, I like it. I was just thinking about how difficult it was going to be to write.”

His mouth was moving but his mind hadn’t caught up. He was tired and feeling a bit of something else that was negative and that was swarming in the pit of his stomach. So, he spoke.

And Marinette listened.

“Difficult? Why?”

He shrugged.

“I know that I _want_ to write it. I just don’t know _how_?”

She turned her chair to face him. He was currently sitting on the floor right beside her feet. He was playing with the end of his tail.

“Elaborate.”

“Like,” His mouth scrunched up slightly to the right and he hummed before continuing. “I’m writing through Felix’s point of view. But I want to show what Ladybug’s thinking without having to state it. But… I don’t know how.”

She didn’t say anything, she just looked to be in deep thought. Her lips were pursed.

“Do girl’s crush differently than guys? What would be going through your mind if you held your crushes’ hand?”

“I-why are you asking _me_?”

He shrugged.

“You're a girl and you _are_ crushing on someone, right?”

Marinette’s eyes widened almost comically, and at the realization of his own words, Chat finally got himself out from his tired daze.

“ _I- I didn’t-“_ He started rather frantically, his own eyes now widened, and his tail tensing in his hands.

_Crap. Crap. Crap._

Marinette covered her face with her right hand and he quickly stood up. He didn’t hear any crying, so that much had him slightly relieved. However, she was probably caught off guard and wondering how on earth he could’ve possibly known.

And he couldn’t tell her that their classmate told him how everyone had practically noticed.

His hands were up in defense and he stepped himself back, giving both him and her some space.

She groaned, and he panicked.

“I just thought because it was kind of obvious? I just notice things? B-but you may not even like anyone! And I’m sorry that I came to that conclusion and I-“ His right hand went through his hair nervously and he chuckled like his life depended on it. “Do you want me to go? ‘Cus I will if y-you want me too!”

She lifted up a single hand, the other still covering her face. Through the openings of her fingers he saw how red her complexion was.

“No worries. I just never thought you’d bring something like this up.”

“Oh my god I am so sorry, Marinette. It’s really none of my business. I’ll go, really!”

“No, you don’t have to. It’s okay! You just took me off guard. I-I just need a moment.”

She took in a deep breath and Chat almost fell to the ground, he felt _so_ bad. What kind of friend was he? I mean was he curious about who caught his friend’s affections? Yes, undoubtedly. But it wasn’t his place to butt into her business the way that he had.

“Okay, I’m good.”

Marinette finally removed her hand, lowering it to her thigh. However, when she turned to look at Chat - her face a deep red that went up to the very tips of her ears - her eyes widened yet again, and she hid her face from him once more.

Adrien immediately walked himself up to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, hoping that she’d look at him.

“Marinette-“

“ _God_. I’m really _that_ obvious, aren’t I?”

“No! I mean I just assumed-“

“Stop being so nice! I know you’ve noticed. You’re here practically every week. Of course, you’d notice.”

She seemed to have mumbled the last part to herself, and Adrien kept squeezing her shoulders. Hoping that he didn’t just mess up what they had.

“Notice what? I noticed nothing!”

He felt like a complete idiot.

“Ha ha.” She stated in a monotone voice, revealing only her eyes through her fingers, making sure he’d see her glare. Her very red glare. “I get it. You can stop teasing me now.”

“Marinette, I swear I’m not teasing. Please believe me.”

Her expression didn’t seem to change, but surprisingly she dropped her hands and shook him off of her. Adrien’s heart was about to sink until she scooted herself back to her desk properly and looked at the webpage, quickly exiting out of it.

He was about to say her name, until he saw what she was trying to show him.

She minimized and exited out of several pages and documents, revealing her wallpaper that had several pictures of him cropped and scattered in some sort of collage, surrounded with _hearts_.

Before he could respond, react, _feel_ , she tapped his shoulder and pointed to the several pictures of him that were plastered all over her walls. Images of him from several photo-shoots and magazines, pictures of _Adrien_.

His face was miraculously redder than hers. He couldn’t look at her, he could only feel his heart clenching ever so tightly in his chest. Her sigh reminded him to breathe.

“You're crushing on this boy.” He tried asking. However, it sounded more like a statement. He was surprised he was able to speak.

“I’m _in love_ with this boy.”

* * *

**Chapter 16 of “The Empty Streets of Paris”**

**\--by**    ** _FelineGood16_** __**on FanWorkz.net**

**Comments (204)**

**LBluver93:**   _I can’t believe Felix almost died! Like he’s the main character so I knew he was gonna be fine at the end but the scene was still so dark and angsty! AHhh! Loved it <3_

 **IzukuSmash23:** _I enjoy this story, I’m just wondering when they’re finally going to kiss tho._

 **Katilyn-luvs-catz (Reply):**   _@IzukuSmash23 Same!!_

 **Chat-NoirsClawz_ (Reply):** _@IzukuSmash23 The sexual tension was killing me the whole time._

**Queen-of_the-Soul__:** _Ahh omg Chat is such a QT !!! They r totes gunna kiss next chapter like the Ladyblog gurl sed! >-< <3 _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was not beta'd so please excuse any grammar mistakes that I may have missed! I'll probably read over them later. And I usually reply to comments on every chapter but I may not for chap 7 because there are so many and I'm tired. But I've read all of them and they all helped motivate me to keep writing this story. Thank you all so much for your support and I hope I can update much faster next time. Please don't be afraid to comment! I love all comments no matter the length! And truthfully, the longer the better. The long ones always make me teary-eyed and I keep them close to my heart. Thank <3

**Author's Note:**

> This story was greatly inspired by a book called Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and you guys should check it out!  
> Hey guys! I really hope you enjoy the story. On my tumblr (@fuckingchatnoir) you can find updates on when a chapter is going to be posted and even fanart when I decide to draw some for this story.


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